【Tokyo Ghoul】 Flower of Glass (English Version)
by moeka1220
Summary: Soon after Kureo Mado's death, a young investigator named Yukina becomes Amon's new partner. As the story progresses, the investigators' views on "ghouls" start to change... *This story was originally written in JP by me and was later translated by me. However, there are some differences between the two versions. *6/6/16 EDITED PART 3 CH. 5, added background info in paragraphs 8-12
1. Prologue

This happened one night, when the girl was still in sixth grade. In a quiet residential area, the girl encountered a "ghoul" for the first time in her life.

It was already late at night, and there was no one else around her except for the young ghoul. The ghoul, who was standing right beneath the streetlamp, stared at the girl standing about ten feet away. His hair was dark, his clothes were dark, his expression was dark...everything about him was dark, except for his bright-red eyes. And on his lips was fresh, red blood.

"Are you...a ghoul?" the girl asked. Of course she knew the answer. But those were the only words that came out of her mouth. Her hands became sweaty, and she gripped her backpack straps tight. Her heart beat faster and faster, louder and louder. She could not move her legs.

The girl's mind went blank.

 _I...am...dead,_ the three words came to her mind as she locked eyes with the ghoul.

After a while, the ghoul licked the blood off his lips. He then covered his mouth with a black, mask-like object and started walking towards her. She closed her eyes tight. She gripped her hands even tighter and scrunched up her shoulders. The footsteps came closer and closer, and then...stopped.

The ghoul sighed and said, "It doesn't feel right..." Then, he just walked past her.

The footsteps gradually became smaller. The girl opened her eyes. She couldn't understand what had just happened. Her heartbeat began to slow down and became quieter. And, in a barely audible voice, she asked, "You're not going to...kill me?" But there was no answer.

When she turned around, there was already no sight of the ghoul.


	2. Part 1: Chapter 1

"...And what's that person's name?"

"Um, I think it was Yukina...Yukina Teshigawara."

It was around 10 AM on November 26th, 2012. In front of CCG 20th Ward's Branch Office, Amon ran into Shinohara, who was assigned to the 20th ward just recently. Right now, they were walking toward the stairs to the second floor, as they talked about Amon's new partner whom Amon was going to meet today.

"Hmm, a female investigator. That's pretty unusual," Shinohara remarked after learning her first name.

"Yes, and another unusual thing: she's only 17 years old," Amon added.

"What?! I mean, wow, that's really young." Shinohara looked surprised and amazed at the same time. "Oh yeah, come to think of it...a few years back, the Academy lowered the age requirement to take the entrance exam. So there might be more younger investigators from now on."

"Yes...well, I guess it can't be helped, since we need more people..." Amon sighed and looked down at the floor.

"Hm? What's wrong, you don't like it?"

"Well, um...I got a call from Teshigawara a few minutes ago, saying that she came here early so she'll be waiting in front of my room. And her voice sounded...kind of...young."

"Well, she _is_ young. Normally, she would still be a high schooler."

"Yeah, I guess so..."

Shinohara looked at him curiously and asked, "Why do you look overly nervous, though? She's your partner, not your boss or anything."

Amon pondered the question for a moment before replying, "It's not just nervousness. It's more like...it doesn't feel right, that such a young girl is fighting ghouls. I mean, I'm not being sexist or anything, but...she's only 17, and when I think, what if..."

"Ah, I see...17 years is way too short," Shinohara said, avoiding the word "death".

"Yes," said Amon, and added, "and also, I was Mado-san's partner for such a long time that I'm not sure if I'll be able to adjust."

"Hmm..." Shinohara thought about it for a moment before replying. "Well, it might be awkward in the beginning, but as you talk and spend time with her, I think it'll be all right."

"Yes, I hope so..."

The two started going up the stairs.

"Your room is at the end of the hallway on second floor, right? Do you mind if I go with you to see her?" Shinohara asked.

"Oh, no, not at all!" said Amon feeling relieved that he will have someone to go with. But as he approached the last step of the staircase, he became more and more anxious.

 _No, there's no reason for me to get nervous...Gender and age don't matter for investigators. I just have to get along with her and work together as partners!_ Amon told himself. And he and Shinohara started walking down the hallway of the second floor.


	3. Chapter 2

Amon's room was the last room on the left side of the long, straight path, just before the hallway turned to the right. Amon and Shinohara saw a young girl in front of the door. She had long, dark-brown hair tied into a slightly-low ponytail. Although she had on a black blazer and a black skirt, she still looked like a high school student; maybe it was her bangs that made her look younger. When she saw Amon and Shinohara coming towards her, she tightly gripped the handles of her white bag nervously.

Amon and Shinohara stopped in front of her. She bowed and quickly introduced herself, saying, "Good morning, um, my name is Yukina Teshigawara. Nice to meet you." Her voice was small, and her body looked kind of fragile...well, maybe not _fragile_ , but not really the type of person who would go into a battle.

Amon cleared his throat and said, "Um, I'm Koutarou Amon, and I will be your new partner. Nice to meet you too."

There was a moment of awkward silence after his short self-introduction. But then, Shinohara came forward. "Good morning, Teshigawara! My name is Shinohara. Nice to meet you!"

Yukina looked up, a little bewildered by his cheerful and friendly tone. "Oh, um...nice to meet you too," she responded, looking surprised but a little relieved at the same time. Amon felt slightly ashamed for not being able to converse with her like him.

Shinohara looked at Amon and said, "Well, then, I'll go to my room now. There's a lot to do because this ward is so dangerous right now. What are you two going to do today?"

"Um, let me see...So today, Teshigawara is going to move her belongings to her desk, and I'm going to organize my papers, and that's it. We'll probably start investigating the recent incidents regarding ghouls tomorrow."

"Ah, so mostly organizing things today. Well, do your best. See you later!"

"See you later, Shinohara-san," said Amon. With that, Shinohara turned around and walked back towards the stairs to go to his room on the third floor.

 _..."Do your best," as in, finish up all our work? Or does he mean I should try talking with Teshigawara, even if we're both hesitant?_

Amon and Yukina stood there in silence for a while. Yukina just looked down at her feet, her hands still gripped tight on her bag's handles.

"...Well, let's go in," said Amon. Yukina nodded once, and Amon took out his keys and opened the door. The room was spacious, though it did not have any windows for safety reasons. On the right side of the room were bookshelves, and in the middle was a low, oval-shaped coffee table, sandwiched by two moss-green colored sofas facing each other: one with its back against the back wall, and the other with its back facing the door. On the left, there were two L-shaped desks placed against the wall. Each desk had a few drawers attached, and the two desks we're connected to each other at the top tip of the "L" to form a bracket-like shape. The desk near the entrance was Amon's, and the one behind it was a new desk that had replaced Mado's desk.

"Your desk is the one in the back. As you can see, on each desk, there's a computer. There's also a printer on the shelf behind your desk. On the bookshelves on the right side of the room, there are books about ghouls in general, and documents about ghouls in the 20th ward and other areas of Tokyo. And the sofas are for sleeping here if we miss the last train," Amon explained, pointing to each object in the room. However, all Yukina said was "yes" in a small voice.

"Um, so I'll be organizing my papers pretty much all day. Once you're done with moving all your belongings, you can just read through the documents on the bookshelves. Or, if you want to start investigating, I'll give you the data I have so far on my current investigation, so just tell me if you want to do that. Oh, and here's your duplicate key," said Amon, taking out a key from his bag.

"Thank you," said Yukina, taking it from his hands. With that, they each went to their own desks and started working. Yukina took her notebooks and writing instruments out of her bag and started putting them in the desk's drawers. Amon brought a cardboard box that was lying around next to the bookshelves, and started sorting out papers that were on his desk and in his drawers, throwing them into the box if he didn't need them.

Yukina finished moving her belongings to her new desk within an hour, so she took a few books from the bookshelves and read quietly. Time passed in silence, and before Amon knew it, it was already evening.


	4. Chapter 3

"Hey, Teshigawara! Do you want to go out to dinner tonight?" Amon suddenly stood up from his chair and asked Yukina.

"Um...like, right now?" Yukina looked up at Amon and asked, somewhat baffled by the unexpected invitation.

It was now almost 7 PM. Yukina was quietly reading a book that had records of ghouls in the 20th ward, and Amon had just finished organizing his papers. Amon decided to ask Yukina out to dinner because of what had happened around an hour ago. By 6 PM, Amon was nearly done with organizing his papers, and he went out of his room to get something to drink. He bought bottled tea from a vending machine in the hallway near his room, but he didn't go straight back to his room. Instead, Amon sat down on a bench in the hallway, a little far away from his room. He just couldn't relax when Yukina was around.

 _It's sad that I can't even relax in my own room,_ he thought, drinking his tea, when Shinohara came walking down the hallway.

"Hey, Amon! Are you taking a rest right now?" Shinohara called him in his usual, friendly tone.

"Hi, Shinohara-san...Yes, I can't seem to relax when I'm in my room. "

"Ah, I see..." Shinohara sat next to Amon. "Well, I was just about to go to your room to tell you something. Houji and his partner Takizawa are coming to 20th ward tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?! That's pretty sudden..."

"Yeah, it is. Houji should have told me sooner! Also, my new partner is coming three days later!"

"Wow, that's nice!"

"Mm-hmm. Well, I've already seen him many times before, but I'm really looking forward to this," Shinohara said, smiling. He then looked at Amon and asked, "So, how are you doing? From what you said earlier, it doesn't seem like it's going too well."

"Yes, I guess..." Amon smiled wryly. "It's just...I don't know, it's hard to start a conversation with her. I mean, it's not like I was talking a lot when I was with Mado-san, but when I'm with Teshigawara, it's kind of like...an awkward silence."

"Hmm, I see... Well, Teshigawara doesn't seem like the type who would speak a lot." Shinohara crossed his arms in front of him and thought for a moment. "...Why don't you two go eat something for dinner together?"

"Dinner..."

 _It would be terribly awkward and uncomfortable if we can't start or keep a conversation going,_ thought Amon. _But I'll need to push myself if I want to get along with her...and asking her out to dinner would be a good starting point..._

"Okay, I'll do that," Amon said, with a nervous expression.

"Mhmm. Well, just try to relax, all right?" Shinohara said, stretching his arms.

"...Um, Shinohara-san?" Amon cautiously asked. "Would you like to come too?" But Shinohara just looked at him and slapped his back in encouragement.

"What are you saying, Amon! This is meaningful _because_ you guys go by yourselves! Ask me next time and I might go, but first, only ask her," said Shinohara, and he stood up.

"...Yes, you're right. I'll do my best."

"Yup, go for it! See you later."

"See you later, Shinohara-san."

Amon stood up too, and they both went back to their own room. However, Amon was still feeling unprepared to ask her when he entered his room. So he decided to first finish up his task. And now, he did it. He asked her. He anxiously waited for her response, nervous from the fear that his offer may be rejected.

"Uh, sure. Where should we go?"

Amon let out a sigh of relief and thought for a second. "Um, let's see...is there anywhere you want to go?"

Yukina thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe, like...a cafe? Or, wait, it might be closed already..."

Amon was a little taken by surprise, since going out to dinner usually means drinking. But he quickly remembered that she was a minor.

 _Well, I don't really go to cafes, but it seems like the kind of place girls tend to like,_ Amon thought. _And since she's a minor, it's a good idea to go somewhere without alcohol._

"Let's try looking up any cafes that are still open," Amon said, and he turned on his computer. Yukina closed her book and also turned on her computer. After searching for a while, Yukina exclaimed, "Oh!" in a small voice.

"This place...I've heard of it before. It seems like it's open until 8:30..."

"What's it called?"

"It's 'Anteiku' in hiragana."

Amon searched "Anteiku" and found their website. It was a cafe a little far away from their office.

"I think we can get there in 15 to 20 minutes if we use the subway. Let's go there," said Amon.

"Okay, I'll go put these books back," Yukina said, and she stood up and went to return the books back to the bookshelf. The two then left the building and went to the subway station...without knowing what kind of place "Anteiku" was.


	5. Chapter 4 (1)

It was very quiet in Anteiku. The time was now 7:40 PM, and there were only four people in the cafe: Irimi, Koma, Touka, and Yoshimura. Anteiku was open until 8:30, but no customer had come in since 7. In a separate room, Hinami was reading a book, and Kaneki was sitting by her, teaching her kanji that she didn't understand.

"I heard there are more investigators now in this ward. No wonder there isn't anyone coming in at this time," Irimi said, breaking the silence. She was washing coffee mugs and teacups at the sink behind the counter. She handed the last coffee mug to Touka, who was standing next to her, drying the cups.

"...Yes, I guess," was all Touka said. She quietly dried the last coffee mug with a towel.

Irimi turned off the faucet and wiped her hands with a towel. She looked at Koma, who was sitting at the counter drinking coffee. Koma looked back at her and shrugged. The two have noticed that Touka seemed gloomy since the fight with Kureo Mado. However, they hesitated to ask her why, not wanting her to recall that incident. All they could do was to try to talk and act normally.

Touka noticed their attitude, but she said nothing. Even if they were to ask her, she probably would not answer. She didn't want them to know that she felt guilty about killing Mado after seeing his engagement ring. Touka bit her lips, disliking how naïve she was to regret killing an investigator just because he had a family. She placed the coffee mug on the rack and stood there, silent.

Just then, the bells sounded as someone opened the door.

 _Clang-clang._

Irimi looked up at the door and smiled. "Wel - " she started to greet the customers cheerfully, but stopped when she saw who they were. Her smile faded from her face, and in a barely audible voice, she said, "...come..."

Irimi, Koma, and Touka all froze for a moment and stared at the customers. Touka's face turned pale when she saw who they were: a young woman in a formal attire carrying a Quinque case and a white bag, and Mado's former partner, also carrying a Quinque case-the man whom Touka fought with not so long ago.

"Oh, uh, sorry...is it almost time to close?" Amon asked. He did know that Anteiku will not close until 8:30 PM, but he was startled by the way the three stared at him and Yukina.

Yoshimura, who was quietly making coffee for the workers, looked up. "No, please sit wherever you'd like," he said from behind the counter, smiling.

Hearing his words, Irimi came to herself. She grabbed two menus and walked up to Amon and Yukina, who sat at a table a little away from the entrance.

"These are the menus. Please call me if you are ready, or if you have any questions," Irimi said in a calm voice, handing them the menus. She then walked back to the counter.

This was a rare occasion. Irimi could not even recall if they had ever had a customer from CCG. But today, they had to treat them as customers, not like ghoul investigators.

Yoshimura smiled at her as though he was saying, _Good job._ Koma looked at Irimi too and nodded his head, smiling. Irimi's face was still a little stiff, but she gently smiled back at them.

However, Touka was looking down at the sink with both hands on the tiles, still unable to move. Irimi, Koma, and Yoshimura thought the man was just a regular ghoul investigator, but Touka knew that he was the one who fought with Kaneki - the former partner of the man whom Touka had killed a few days ago.

"Are you all right, Touka?" Koma whispered, looking at how pale her face was.

"..." Touka did not reply or look up. A bead of sweat went down her cheek and fell on the tiles.

 _The white-haired guy and his former partner...they were the ones who killed Hinami's mother. That guy is definitely his former partner. There's more of us than the investigators, and we can probably catch them off guard right now. Then...then isn't now the best time to attack them?_

Touka looked to her left at Yoshimura, who was standing next to her. Seeing Touka's grim look, Yoshimura assumed that the male customer was Mado's former partner, since that was the only investigator he could think of whom Touka would despise so much. He cast a stern look at her and shook his head sideways, as though he was saying to her, _No, not in here._

Touka looked down again, and mumbled, "...I know." _Because Anteiku isn't a place to fight..._

"Hm? Did you say something?" asked Irimi, who was standing to the right of Touka.

Touka did not answer. But after a while, she hung the towel that she used to wipe cups with on the towel rack and said, "I'm going to go to the room in the back." She then walked out the back door and closed it. She stood still in the hallway for a while, facing the door.

 _I need to go tell Kaneki about this. Kaneki should have had his mask on when he fought with that investigator, but he might know his voice, hair, and part of his face. So if he sees Kaneki right now, things could get bad. He definitely cannot come inside the cafe. I need to go tell him that._

Touka suppressed her anger and walked down the hallway to the room that Kaneki and Hinami were in, with the resolve to do the best she could do.


	6. Chapter 4 (2)

When Touka came back inside the cafe, Irimi was taking orders from the two.

"Um, can I get one ham and cheese hot sandwich and a flat white coffee?" Amon said.

"One ham and cheese hot sandwich and a flat white coffee," Irimi repeated his order after writing it down.

Next, Yukina ordered. "One potato salad sandwich and a milk tea."

"One potato salad sandwich and a milk tea," Irimi wrote it down and repeated. "Would that be all?"

"Yes," said Amon.

Irimi took the menus. "Okay. Your order will be ready in a few minutes," she said. She the went back to the counter, tore the sheet with the order from her notepad, and showed it to Koma and Yoshimura. Irimi and Koma started making the sandwiches, and Yoshimura the drinks. Touka closed the door and just stood there, looking at the three. She the glanced at Yukina and Amon. And everyone behind the counter listened intently to their conversation.

At first, neither of them spoke. Yukina sat straight, looking down at the table uneasily.

"Um..." Amon said, trying to start a conversation. "Do you, um, go to cafes often?" he asked.

"Uh, y-yes. I went to this one cafe a lot when I worked in the 18th ward," Yukina said, nervously.

"Oh. What kind of cafe was it?"

"It was a small place, but I became close with the owner and the workers there, and I loved it," Yukina said, still looking down at the table and not making eye contact with Amon. But she smiled as she spoke, and her shoulders and voice seemed more relaxed.

 _I think I'm doing pretty well,_ thought Amon. _We're actually having a conversation._

But then, Yukina suddenly looked up with a serious expression and asked, "Um, Amon-san, you've worked in the 19th ward before, right?"

"Huh?" said Amon, surprised by the sudden question. "Uh, yes, well...until the 20th ward became dangerous. Mado-san and I were then called to this ward."

As he explained, Yukina looked at him anxiously, as if she really wanted to say something. But when he stopped talking, she looked back down at the table again. Amon looked at her with a confused expression, waiting for her to say something.

After a while, she asked, "Um...do you remember the Ikegami Street Incident?"

"Huh? Um..." The name sounded familiar to Amon, but he couldn't remember what it was.

"It was an incident about five months ago, where a new ghoul investigator was killed by a ghoul," Yukina explained, still looking down.

 _Ah,_ Amon recalled, _that one._ It wasn't a particularly unusual incident, but he remembered that the two ghouls involved were S-rates and were not caught or killed.

"Oh yeah, I remember now. Mado-san...my former partner and I went to the scene, but we were too late; the new investigator was already dead. But the ghouls ran away when they saw us, so the new investigator's partner survived."

"That partner was me," said Yukina.

"Huh?!" Amon exclaimed.

"...My former partner was my friend and classmate in the Academy, and we both graduated this March. We worked together in the 18th ward as partners, but she was murdered in June by ghouls from the 11th ward who, for an unknown reason, were at the border between the 18th and 19th wards," Yukina talked in a small voice. "She was killed first, and I thought I was going to be killed next...but then, two investigators came. The ghouls must have thought they couldn't win, and they ran away." Yukina lifted her face and looked at Amon. "I found out later that the investigators were Mado-san and Amon-san, from the 19th ward."

Amon stared at her, shocked. _This girl was at that scene..._ Amon still remembered the investigator's dead body; she had been killed brutally. He couldn't believe Yukina had witnessed such a gruesome scene but was able to go back to work as an investigator.

"So, um, I...I've always wanted to thank you, but I was so emotionally unstable right after the incident that I couldn't go see you," said Yukina, looking at Amon in the eyes. "And when I was told that I will be your new partner, I thought it was my chance. But I got really nervous when I saw you, and...I just couldn't say it. So, I would like to say right now...thank you for saving me, Amon-san."

They were both quiet for a while. Amon was just too surprised and didn't know how to respond. Yukina, realizing that she had troubled him, lowered her head.

"I-I'm sorry for saying this so suddenly...but I...I just..."

"Oh, no, it's okay," Amon quickly said. "Now I know why you seemed so nervous today."

"Yes...well, that, and because I'm just not good at talking to new people," Yukina said, lifting her head and smiling wryly.

Amon thought for a moment about the incident and said, "So...did you decide to still continue working as an investigator even after that incident, because you wanted to maintain peace in Tokyo by killing ghouls?"

It is not uncommon for new investigators to quit after witnessing a gruesome scene. Since she didn't quit, he thought that maybe she wanted to keep doing what her friend couldn't do, or maybe she had an ambition to make the world a better place.

However, her reaction was not what he expected it to be.


	7. Chapter 4 (3)

"No, um...it's not really like that," Yukina replied, looking troubled.

"Really?" said Amon, surprised at her answer.

"Um, well..." Yukina thought carefully before speaking. "There are two reasons I decided to become an investigator. One is for financial reasons... I don't have a father, and my mother passed away in the summer when I was 13. Since I didn't have any relatives I could rely on, I asked my judo instructor if there's any stable job with decent income that does not require high school education. And he told me that, even though it's dangerous, CCG is always in need of investigators, and that there's a scholarship to get into the Academy. And...I just kind of went with the flow and became an investigator at this age."

Yukina looked down, embarrassed, and added, "I feel a little ashamed, though, because I think a lot of the investigators are fighting for reasons like what you just said."

"Oh, no, you don't have to feel ashamed!" Amon quickly said. "People have their own reasons, so it's not like it's bad if you became an investigator for financial reasons." Yukina looked up, feeling a little relieved.

"And, what's the other reason?" asked Amon.

"Oh, um, this goes back to way before, but..."

Just then, Irimi brought the food and drinks.

"Thank you for waiting. Here are the ham and cheese hot sandwich, potato salad sandwich, flat white coffee and milk tea," said Irimi, placing them on the table. "Enjoy," she smiled, and she went back to the counter.

"...Well, let's eat," said Yukina.

"Yeah," said Amon, and they started eating.

After taking a bite out of her sandwich and swallowing, Yukina said, "It's been a while since I had potato salad sandwich, but it's pretty good."

"Mm-hmm. The ham and cheese hot sandwich is also good," said Amon. After swallowing, he took a sip of his coffee. "Wow, the coffee here is _really_ good!"

"Mm, the milk tea is good too. But if I come here again, I'll try the coffee," said Yukina.

They ate for a while in silence. After Yukina finished about half of her sandwich, she took a sip of her milk tea, stopped eating, and started talking again.

"So, about the other reason...when I was in sixth grade, I encountered a ghoul, but he let me go."

"He didn't attack you?!" Amon exclaimed, unable to hide his surprise.

Irimi and Koma - who were sitting behind the counter, listening to their conversation - looked at each other. Yoshimura, who was standing behind the counter looking down at the door, glanced at them. Touka was standing behind the counter too, leaning on the wall and looking down at her feet. She opened her eyes wide at Yukina's words but did not look up.

Yukina looked at the ceiling, remembering what had happened that day. "I was walking alone in a residential area at night, when I met a young male ghoul. That ghoul had bright red eyes and blood on his lips...and I knew without doubt that he was a ghoul. There was no one besides us two, and it was dark, and...I thought, 'Oh, I'm dead.' But then, he mumbled, 'It doesn't feel right,' and walked past me."

"Hmm...'It doesn't feel right'...?" Amon thought for a moment about what the ghoul meant by that. Why did a ghoul, who was most likely in the middle of hunting for "food," not attack Yukina?

Yukina looked down at the table. "I've been thinking about those words for a long time. And I started to think that ghouls aren't just what I hear on the news. There's something deeper about them...and I wanted to know more. So when my Judo instructor suggested me to become a ghoul instructor, I almost immediately decided to do so," she said.

"Are these two reasons the same as why you decided to continue working as an investigator, even after the Ikegami Street Incident?" asked Amon.

Yukina slowly nodded and said, "Yes...I think. Like I said before, I'm not doing this job because I have an ambition to kill all ghouls or anything like that. I don't even desire to take revenge and kill the ghouls who killed my friend. Rather, I'm thinking, do we really have to kill ghouls? So, um, I'm not sure if this job is really for me. But for right now, I'll keep working as an investigator, even though that incident was horrifying...for financial reasons, and because I think we might find a better way for us to deal with ghouls if we know more about them."

 _...Wait a second._ Touka lifted her gaze from the floor and looked at Yukina. _Did she just say... 'Do we really have to kill ghouls?'_


	8. Chapter 4 (4)

Amon, also surprised by Yukina's words, looked at her sternly and said, "There's no way we can keep Tokyo peaceful without killing ghouls, Teshigawara."

"..."

Yukina took a bite out of her sandwich. After swallowing, she set her sandwich down on her plate and started talking again.

"I do think that the world will be a much safer place for humans if ghouls didn't exist," she spoke uneasily, looking down at the table. "But they do exist, and it's not their choice to be born as a ghoul. Even though there are ferocious ghouls like 'Gourmet' and 'Binge Eater,' I think there are ghouls who don't want to kill people if they can help it. Can't we at least help those kind of ghouls? If we study more about ghouls, then...I think we might be able to figure something out."

Amon shook his head and said, "It's impossible. As long as ghouls have a Kakuhou, they must eat people. And we don't know what will happen if we were to remove it...they may die immediately, or live but still want to eat us."

"But...if ghouls live in Tokyo like us humans, aren't they citizens too? And if our role is to protect the citizens, shouldn't we try to protect at least the good ghouls?" Yukina asked, looking straight into Amon's eyes.

"I understand that there might be good-hearted ghouls out there," Amon said, looking straight back at her, "but there are far more dangerous, violent ghouls. And because all ghouls must eat humans to live, there is no way to keep peace in Tokyo except by killing them."

Yukina took a few sips of her milk tea. "Yes, I guess..." she said, still holding the cup in her hands and looking down at it. "But the thing is, I don't think Tokyo is peaceful right now. I think we're doing something wrong."

Yukina set her cup down and put her hands on her legs. "I think we tend to look at ourselves subjectively, but we're kind of...prejudiced against others," she said, looking down at the table. "It might be better to be more open-minded and look at things from different perspectives. But...I understand that I'm being very unrealistic, and also vague. I'm sorry." Yukina looked down at her knees and became silent.

"No, well, uh...I don't think it's bad to have ideals, and I understand that people have different perceptions and values," Amon quickly said. "But it's the researchers' job to study ghouls. Our mission is to kill ghouls and protect the safety of humans."

Yukina nodded, lifted her face, and took another bite out of her sandwich.

"But I still want to know...why ghouls sometimes don't attack humans," she said, after swallowing.

Amon suddenly remembered a similar incident. "That reminds me...recently, a ghoul who I fought with let me go," he said.

"What?! Really?" Yukina exclaimed in astonishment. Amon nodded, and he talked to her about the "Eye Patch." The ghoul could have killed Amon, but he said he didn't want to kill him. And Amon still couldn't figure out why...

Yukina tilted her head in wonder and said, "That is...strange. Especially how he said, 'I'm begging you, don't make me a killer.' Does that mean he has never killed a human before, even though he's a ghoul?"

"I'm not sure about that. Maybe his parents or someone else kills humans for him...or maybe not. We can't say anything for sure," said Amon.

After they finished eating and drinking, they picked up their belongings from the floor, stood up, and walked to the register. As Amon paid at the register, Yoshimura looked at Yukina, smiling, and asked, "How was everything?"

"Oh, um, I liked both the sandwich and the milk tea," said Yukina, a little nervously. "Personally, I'd like the sandwich to be less saltier, though."

 _True,_ thought Amon. His sandwich was a little too salty, too. Though the coffee was delicious.

"I'm glad you liked them. We'll try to make the sandwich better," said Yoshimura, smiling. He then asked, "By the way, how did you hear about us?"

Yukina's expression suddenly became bright. "Um, he and I were looking on the Internet for a cafe that was open at this time, and when I saw the name 'Anteiku,' I remembered that my mother told me about this place before," she explained.

Amon was surprised, as he did not know about this. _So that's what she meant when she said she knows this place,_ he thought.

"Oh, so your mother had come here before?" asked Yoshimura, showing no surprise.

"Yes. It was a long time ago, but when we passed by this cafe once, I remember her saying that she came here with my father once. She said she'll take me here someday, but...she passed away."

"I see...I'm sorry to hear that," said Yoshimura, with a solemn expression.

"...I moved into the 20th ward just recently, but I'm glad I came here tonight," said Yukina, with a warm smile.

Amon put away his wallet in his coat pocket, and he walked to the door with Yukina.

"Thank you for coming!" all the workers said as Amon opened the door. Even Touka said it, though in a very small voice. The atmosphere was no longer tense like when the two had entered Anteiku.

Amon and Yukina turned around and said, "Thank you." They then walked out the door.


	9. Chapter 5 (1)

Amon and Yukina got outside, went down the doorsteps, and began walking to the subway station. When Amon looked at his watch, it was already a quarter past 8.

"...So, your parents came here?" Amon spoke to Yukina as they walked.

Yukina, still looking forward, answered, "Yes. My mother never really talked about my father, so I still remember when she told me that she came here before with my father. Even after her death, I sometimes thought about going, but...I became too busy and I kind of forgot about it."

Amon put one hand into his pocket, and looked up at the sky. "I see," he said. "Then I'm glad we came here. Well, since we'll probably be in the 20th ward for a while, you can go there sometimes."

"Mm-hmm," said Yukina.

They walked in silence for a while. When they got off the escalator that descended to the subway station, Amon stopped and faced Yukina.

"Okay, I couldn't say this in the cafe, but about the investigation starting tomorrow: right now, I'm looking for the Eye Patch that I told you earlier, and his friend called Rabbit. Tomorrow, I'll give you the data I've collected so far, so I want to hear what you think," Amon quickly said in a small voice. "All right, Teshigawara?"

"Yes," said Yukina, "and um, this might be a little weird, but I want to ask you something..."

"Hm? What is it?"

Yukina gripped both her hands - one holding her white bag, and the other her Quinque case - very tightly, and said quickly while looking down at the floor.

"Um, 'Teshigawara' is a little long, so, uh, I would prefer you to call me 'Yukina'..."

Amon was a little startled, but he nodded in assent. "O-okay. Oh, and, um...tomorrow, Houji-san and his partner Takizawa are coming. And three days later, Shinohara-san's partner."

"Oh, that sounds...nice," Yukina said, looking a bit worried rather than excited.

"So yeah, we're going to go say hi to Houji-san tomorrow. I'll ask Shinohara-san where his room is tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Well then, I'm going in that direction, so...see you tomorrow, um...Yukina."

"See you tomorrow, Amon-san. Thank you so much for the food."

Yukina bowed lightly and went to the gate opposite of Amon's side. Amon stood there for a moment, looking at her as she went through the gate.

 _We got to know more about each other, and I don't feel nervous around her anymore. So I guess I can call this a success?_

Amon stretched his arms out.

 _Well, even though she might have different opinions and values from me, she seems like a responsible person,_ thought Amon. He walked toward the gate, feeling more confident than he felt this morning.


	10. Chapter 5 (2)

Irimi looked out the window, making sure that the two had walked away.

"They're gone," she said, facing Yoshimura.

"Whew! Finally!" said Koma, letting out a big sigh of relief.

Yoshimura, who started making coffee again, said, "Good work, everyone. Touka, can you tell Kaneki and Hinami that they can come out now?"

"Wait," said Koma, "so you know how that guy -was his name Amon? - talked about the 'Eye Patch?' Was it about...Kaneki?"

Touka nodded.

"Wow, I was thinking maybe it was Kaneki from his descriptions, but that's such a coincidence," said Koma.

"A bad coincidence, though," said Touka, "since Amon is the guy who Kaneki fought with the other day." _So that guy has a new partner now,_ she thought.

"Ah, so that's why you went to the room in the back," said Irimi.

"Yes, I went to warn them not to come out. I'll go tell them right now that the investigators left," said Touka, and she opened the back door.

"Oh, I'll go turn the sign around to 'Closed,'" said Irimi, and she went out the front door.

Touka went out into the hallway and closed the back door. She walked to the room that Kaneki and Hinami were in and lightly knocked on the door, twice. When she opened it, she saw them sitting side by side on the sofa behind the table. They looked at Touka with a nervous expression, anxious to know how things went. When Touka came in earlier, they were reading a book; but that was now closed and set aside on the table. _They probably didn't feel like reading anymore after I told them that "he" came,_ thought Touka.

"...You guys can come out now," said Touka, and she let go of the doorknob.

As she turned her back to them, Kaneki called, "Um...er, how was it?"

Touka stood still for a while, not facing them.

 _..."How was it?" It's not like I did anything..._

"I didn't do anything. Irimi served the customers, Yoshimura made the drinks, and Koma and Irimi made the sandwiches," Touka explained in a low voice.

"Oh..." Kaneki scratched the back of his neck. "But...you must be tired. Get a good rest, okay?"

Touka was silent for a moment, but then started to speak in a small voice. "...The female customer..."

"Hm?"

"...She had naïve thoughts, just like you."

With that, she left. Kaneki stared at her, puzzled.

"I wonder if onee-chan is okay..." Hinami whispered to Kaneki, as Touka walked down the hallway. Kaneki stood up and gave her a hand.

"Let's go in the cafe. Oh, hey, Touka! The cafe isn't that way!"

"I know. I'm going to the bathroom!" Touka shouted angrily without looking back. She went around the corner of the hallway and opened and slammed the bathroom door shut.

After a few seconds of silence, Hinami uneasily took Kaneki's hand and stood up. Kaneki led her to Anteiku.


	11. Chapter 5 (3)

When Kaneki went inside Anteiku, he saw Yoshimura serving coffee to the workers from the back of the counter. The workers sat at the counter, Irimi on the farthest seat from the back door and Koma next to her. Kaneki sat next to Koma, and Hinami closed the door and sat next to Kaneki. Yoshimura gave them coffee too.

"Thank you," said Kaneki. "Um..." Kaneki paused, not knowing what to say. "Was everything...uh...okay?"

Yoshimura nodded. "We're okay. It didn't seem like they noticed anything about us. Tonight, they were just our customers."

"Though it's hard to think of them as 'normal customers'..." Irimi said, and she took a sip of her coffee.

"Um, one of the customers was...a woman, right?" Kaneki suddenly asked.

"Hm? Well, yes..." Irimi responded, a little surprised.

"Did that person say something that I might say?"

"Huh?"

Kaneki explained what Touka had told him earlier.

Irimi laughed softly and said, "Ah, I see now. Kaneki, do you remember what you said before?"

"Huh?"

"I think it was when you were talking with Nishiki. You said, you don't think it's right for ghouls to think of humans as just food, or for humans to think that all ghouls are ferocious monsters. What we need is a good distance...where we don't go against each other, but instead, have respect for each other."

"Oh, yeah..."

"The female customer...I think her name was Tega...Tegashira...?"

"I think he called her Teshigawara," said Koma.

"Yeah, Teshigawara. She said something like that. Like, 'Do we really have to kill ghouls?'"

"Ah, so that's why Touka said 'naïve'..." Kaneki laughed bitterly.

Irimi laughed gently. "The male customer - I think she called him Amon? - also said it was just ideals, and not at all realistic. But when Touka said 'naïve,' I think it was more of a compliment."

"Really?"

"Remember how Nishiki responded, 'There might be people who are saved by the way you think?' I think Nishiki and Touka were both saved."

"But...really?"

"Well, Touka might not admit that she was. But she has a human friend, so even if what you say are merely ideals, I think she wants things to be that way too."

Just then, Touka came in through the back door.

"Onee-chan! Come sit here!" said Hinami, putting her left hand on the seat to her left.

Touka smiled a little, and nodded once. Yoshimura poured coffee into a cup and placed it in front of Touka, who sat next to Hinami.

"...Thank you," Touka said, and she took a sip.

Irimi looked at Yoshimura and changed the subject of the conversation a little, asking, "So, do you know who Teshigawara's parents are?"

Kaneki looked surprised. "Parents...wait, aren't they humans?"

Yoshimura poured coffee into a cup for himself and sat next to Hinami. "Her father came here often, despite not being a ghoul. That was quite unusual, so I still remember him," he said. He took a sip before he continued, "Well, I'm just assuming that the young man who came here often around fifteen or twenty years ago is her father. He came here...maybe more like sometimes, rather than often...but when he came, he was always alone, and sat at the counter and talked with me. One day, he said, 'I'll bring my girlfriend next time. But I think that'll be the last time I'll come here.' A few days later, he came in with a young lady, and that was the last time I saw him."

Touka was looking down at her coffee until now, but she lifted her face and looked at Yoshimura, asking, "...Did you ask why he said it was his last time coming here?"

Yoshimura shook his head. "All I said was, 'Sure, I'll be looking forward to seeing her.' I didn't ask anything when he came with his girlfriend."

Yoshimura took another sip of his coffee and said, "Today's female customer had a different last name from the male customer back then, but she resembles him and his girlfriend."

Koma drank all of his coffee and said, "Well, that customer, Teshigawara, was an unusual person."

"Mm-hmm," said Irimi. She looked at Kaneki and Hinami and said, "I'll explain the details to you guys later."

"Thank you," said Kaneki. He then looked at Yoshimura and asked, "Um, by the way...is it okay if I still work here? Because...if today's male customer, Amon, comes here again..."

"But you had your mask on when you fought with him, right?" asked Irimi.

"Yes," Kaneki said, "but he knows my hair color and voice, and also my build."

Yoshimura finished his coffee and pondered for a moment. "Hmm...all right. For a while, you can serve customers only in the morning. After noon, please make food. Only a few human customers come in each day, but if they do, they would usually order a sandwich or salad or something."

"Oh...food..." Kaneki smiled wryly.

"Well it's not like you're going to eat it. Just making it," Koma said, trying to cheer him up.

"...Okay, I'll do that," said Kaneki, still looking a little nervous.

Irimi finished her coffee and stood up. "All right. Kaneki, Hinami, it might take a while, but I'll tell you guys what we learned by eavesdropping on the customers' conversation, so let's go to the room in the back."

Koma laughed bitterly and said, "Oh, come on, we weren't eavesdropping. We just heard heard it because it was so quiet in here. But, yeah, you guys should hear what happened."

"Okay," said Kaneki. He finished his coffee and stood up.

Hinami did the same, and she looked at Yoshimura and said, "Thank you for the coffee." They put their cups in the sink, and Irimi led Kaneki and Hinami out the back door.

Koma looked at Touka. She has only drunk half of her coffee.

"...Well, I guess some investigators think differently than others. So many men, so many minds, you know," said Koma. "Don't think too much about it, all right?" He then stood up and put his cup in the sink.

"Oh, by the way," he said, looking at Yoshimura, "I'll tell Nishiki about this tomorrow."

"Yes, please," said Yoshimura, smiling. Koma went out the back door to his room. Now, only Touka and Yoshimura were inside the cafe.

Yoshimura stood up, went to the back of the counter, and put his cup in the sink. He was about to turn on the faucet when Touka said, "Wait, I'll wash them." She drank all her coffee and went to the back of the counter.

"Thank you," Yoshimura smiled gently, "When you're done, go back to your room and rest well, all right?" Touka smiled back and started washing the cups. Yoshimura then walked out the back door.

 _"So many men, so many minds"... Well, I guess that's true,_ Touka thought. _I shouldn't think too much...yup, that's my best decision._

And so, six days passed, during which Touka tried to tell herself many times not to think too much about what the female investigator said. However, she couldn't help thinking about the words, "Do we really have to kill ghouls?" _I mean, she's an investigator,_ she contemplated. _Aren't investigators supposed to be people who go all out to kill as many ghouls as they can?_

Nothing unusual happened at Anteiku, though, during those six days. No investigator came, and most of the customers were ghouls, with humans coming in once in a while.

However, on the evening of December 2nd. Members of Aogiri Tree attacked Anteiku while Yoshimura and Yomo were away, and Kaneki was abducted by Yamori.

END OF PART 1


	12. Part 2: Chapter 1

Kaneki was abducted in the evening of December 2nd, but in the morning of the same day, everyone in all branches of the CCG - except for 11th Ward's Branch Office - was talking about something else.

It was now 9 AM on December 2nd, and Yukina was in the train on her way to CCG 20th Ward's Branch Office, recalling what had happened two days ago.

On November 30th, Shinohara's partner came to the 20th ward. On that day, Yukina and Amon went to Shinohara's room to introduce themselves, but that person was a little...or rather, very weird.

"Hello. I'm Shinohara-san's underling, Juuzou Suzuya. Nice to meet you guys!" he greeted them when they went into the room, turning his chair around to face them. He was about the same age as Yukina, had white hair, and had red stitches on his face and body, and... _underling?_

Amon, like Yukina, was taken back by his unusual appearance and words. He stood in silence at the doorway for a moment. Then, he cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"I'm Amon. Nice to meet you," he said.

"U-um...nice to meet you," Yukina said. There was silence for a while. Yukina, realizing that she hadn't said her name yet, quickly added, "Oh, um, I'm Amon-san's partner, Yukina Teshigawara!"

Juuzou smiled and said, "Nice to meet you too."

Amon looked around the room and asked, "Um...is Shinohara-san not in here right now?"

"Nope, he went to the bathroom. Do you want me to tell him later that you guys came here?" asked Suzuya.

"Yes, please. See you later," Amon said, and he turned around.

"Got it. See you later," Juuzou smiled, waving his hand.

Yukina bowed lightly and followed Amon into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

 _...I hope I can get along with him,_ Yukina thought in the train. _Suzuya-san is quite...peculiar, and I saw Houji-san's partner Takizawa glaring at him... Doesn't seem like things are going well._

After Yukina got off the train, she slowly walked to the 20th Ward's Branch Office. Coincidentally, she met Takizawa near the entrance.

"Good morning, Takizawa-san," said Yukina, a little hesitantly.

"Oh, good morning, uh...Teshigawara-san," he replied.

Suddenly, a cheerful voice approached from behind them.

"Hey, Yukina and Takizawa-san! Good morning!"

When they turned around, they saw Juuzou walking towards them, grinning and waving his hand.

"Why are you calling someone whom you met just a few days ago by her first name?" Takizawa responded. He looked annoyed, and he glared at Juuzou.

"Uh, well, I'm okay with it, so...yeah. Let's go in," said Yukina.

 _How unlucky am I to bump into these two, when we all come from different directions..._ Yukina thought, smiling wryly.

They went inside the building and walked in the first floor, side by side. Yukina felt very awkward, as Takizawa was to her left and Juuzou to her right. Takizawa looked straight ahead with an irritated expression, while Juuzou lifted his arm and looked at the stitches on it, smiling with satisfaction.

The three started to go up the stairs, with Juuzou in the front.

"M~mm~" Juuzou hummed joyfully.

"Hey, stop that," Takizawa said in a angry voice. "You're a ghoul investigator! Imagine how people will think of you if they see those stitches..."

Juuzou stopped and looked back at Takizawa with a sour face. "You're so annoying. Do you want me to stitch those lips together so they'll stop moving so much?"

Takizawa stopped walking and stared at him in fright. "D-don't get carried away just because you became an investigator withou going to the Academy!" he shouted. He then went up the stairs, fast, going ahead of Juuzou. Juuzou started walking up the stairs again.

"Wait, Takizawa-san!" Yukina said, hurrying after them. "We all have different hobbies, you know, and it's not like Suzuya-san's hobby is affecting us in a bad way..."

Takizawa, who came to the top of the staircase, looked back and said, "It might not _directly_ affect us, but what if we ghouls investigators lose our dignity because of..."

"Hey, Takizawa!"

A voice called from the end of the hallway. Yukina and Juuzou caught up to Takizawa, and the three saw Shinohara, Amon, and Houji in front of Amon and Yukina's room.

"Oh, and Teshigawara and Juuzou! Come here guys, I need to tell you something," said Shinohara, waving his hand.

Yukina and Takizawa rushed toward them. "There was a very important announcement from the Main Office," said Shinohara. Shinohara waited for Juuzou to catch up to them, as he walked normally down the hallway. When he caught up, he said, "yesterday, the 11th Ward Branch Office was attacked by the Aogiri Tree, and may have been annihilated."

"A-annihilated...!" Yukina and Takizawa exclaimed at the same time.

Juuzou looked at Shinohara nonchalantly and asked, "What is 'Aogiri?'"

Takizawa turned and looked at Juuzou in astonishment and disbelief. "Are you serious?! They are an organization of ghouls that's been growing in the 11th Ward!"

Amon nodded and said, "Yes, this organization is a great threat. And we can't really go near the 11th Ward Branch Office right now, so it's taking a long time for us to investigate the situation. When we're done investigating, the Main Office will most likely make a Special Countermeasures Unit."

"Are only people from the Main Office going to be in that Unit?" Takizawa asked.

"No," Amon said, shaking his head, "They'll probably take 20 to 50 people from each ward."

"It seems...very serious and large-scale," said Yukina, looking worried.

But Juuzou looked excited. "Ooh, so thrilling," he said, smiling.

Takizawa glared at Juuzou again. Shinohara cleared his throat and said, "Well, there's nothing we can do about the 11th ward until the investigation is complete. As for right now, everyone, continue investigating as usual."

"Yes, sir!" Yukina and Takizawa responded simultaneously.

"Got it," Juuzou said a little after, still smiling.


	13. Part 2: Chapter 2

On December 9th, about a week after the attack on the 11th Ward's Branch Office, investigators from each ward were called to join the 11th Ward Special Countermeasures Unit. Those chosen from the 20th ward were Shinohara, Juuzou, Amon, Yukina, and 24 other rank-3, rank-2, rank-1, and first-class investigators.

Shinohara and Juuzou went to Amon's room that morning to talk about this mission.

"Well, we've be in the 20th ward for only a few days, but...good to know you guys are in the team, too!" Shinohara said rather cheerfully, trying to break the tense atmosphere.

Yukina, however, frowned and said, "I wonder why Houji-san and Takizawa-san didn't get called...I mean, Houji-san is an associate special-class investigator, so he must be strong..."

"Maybe because Takizawa isn't very competent," Juuzou said, smiling.

"Hey, Juuzou. It's not like that," scolded Shinohara. He looked at Yukina and said, "Since this ward is dangerous right now, we need them to be in charge of here. I think that's why they weren't called."

"...Are you nervous, Yukina?" Amon looked at Yukina and asked.

Yukina looked down and said, "I'm afraid I might be a burden...this is my first large-scale mission, and I'm still not very experienced compared to other investigators."

"It'll be all right," Juuzou said, smiling. "I'm a newbie too, you know."

Yukina looked up, looking a little relieved. "Thank you, Suzuya-san. I'll do my best."

"Mhmm. Let's do our best," said Juuzou.

Yukina then looked at Amon and Shinohara and said, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. Even though I'm still inexperienced, I'll do my best."

"All right," said Amon.

"Yup, that's the spirit!" said Shinohara. "Oh, and I think you guys already got this information, but there's going to be a meeting at the Main Office on the 12th, so we have to move to an apartment near the Main Office by the 11th."

"Yeah, I already have the apartment's address. They sent it to me just an hour ago," said Amon.

"Okay, great. Well, it's going to get busy, but don't work _too_ hard, all right? See you later!" Shinohara said, and opened the door.

"See you later," Yukina and Amon said together.

"See you," Juuzou said, waving his hand at them as he followed Shinohara out the door. Yukina waved back at him, smiling.

After Juuzou closed the door, Shinohara and Juuzou started walking down the hallway.

"You seem to get along well with Yukina," said Shinohara, smiling at Juuzou. "I feel a little relieved."

"Mhmm. I like how she's kinda natural," replied Juuzou.

"Like, hm? Well, that's good," said Shinohara. They started going up the stairs. "...Hey, Juuzou," Shinohara said in a much more serious tone.

"Yeah?"

"This mission is going to be very dangerous. So let's be really careful and cautious, okay?"

"Got it. Leave it up to me," Juuzou smiled, showing no sign of nervousness or seriousness. Shinohara smiled at him wryly, looking a little worried.

And so, three busy days passed as the investigators moved to the temporary apartment that the CCG had accommodated them with. At the meeting on December 12th, it was reported that there were no survivors from the 11th Ward's Branch Office. And Marude, the leader of the 11th Ward Special Countermeasures Unit, declared that they will attack Aogiri one week later.

The week passed by quickly, and it was finally the night of Decmeber 19th.


	14. Part 2: Chapter 3

It was silent inside the car on the way to the Aogiri Tree's 11th Ward Base. Yukina, Amon, Shinohara, and four other investigators - including the driver - were in the car. (Since there was space for only seven people, Juuzou was in the car right behind them.) None of them spoke, and the only sound you could hear were the clanking sounds that their Quinque cases made inside the trunk.

"..."

Yukina, who was sitting on the left side of the back seat with Amon and Shinohara, looked down at her feet nervously.

"Yukina, try to relax a bit more," said Amon, who was sitting in the middle. "We're going to attack _after_ the rank-3 investigators shoot at the Aogiri for a while, when Marude-san tells us to go in. We still have a long way to go."

"Y-yes! I'm sorry..." Yukina took a deep breath, but she still looked down at her hands, clenched tightly on her lap.

"Hey, Amon," Shinohara called, looking up from Yamori's data that he had been reading carefully for the past few minutes, "what did you think of Jason when you fought him?"

"Hmm...I guess he was...different from other ghouls. Like, very strange," said Amon.

"Mhmm," Shinohara nodded. "I don't know if you've heard of this before, but...before he was called 'Jason,' he was caught by the CCG once and was put in Cochlea."

Yukina looked at Shinohara and exclaimed in surprise. "He was caught before?!"

"Yes," said Shinohara, "but in Cochlea, there was an investigator with problems...and after long periods of torture, Jason made another personality inside him, in order to protect himself. And then he escaped. After that, he's committed brutal acts, using torture methods that he learned with his own body."

"I've heard of his being caught and that he escaped, but I didn't know about the details like the torture," said Amon.

"But then..." Yukina started to say something, but stopped.

"Hm? What is it?" Shinohara asked.

"Oh, um..." Yukina spoke with hesitation. "I thought, maybe...aren't we, the investigators, responsible for Jason's current actions?"

"Well, as I said earlier, the investigator had problems, though he doesn't work for the CCG anymore. But remember, Jason is a ghoul; he's been committing murder since before the torture. And even if he was tortured, that doesn't justify his atrocities."

"Yes, I guess that's true..." Yukina said, looking down again. But she suddenly looked up at Shinohara again and asked, "By the way, what do the ghouls in Cochlea eat?"

"I think they are given blood...blood that was donated but is past the expiration date," Shinohara explained. "But since it's like humans living by just drinking juice or tea, most of them go mad eventually. When that happens, we kill them immediately."

"But why do we even imprison them? We have to get blood for them, and if they go crazy, we have to kill them. That seems like a lot of work..."

"Well, sometimes, we have to interrogate them, like if they're affiliated with organizations like the Aogiri. Also, the scientists are doing research."

"What kind of research?"

"Hmm...I'm not sure about the details."

"Maybe Quinques?" Amon suggested. "I don't hear much about their research, but they must be producing some results if their research is ongoing."

"...I think it would be good if they research about possible ways ghouls can live without eating humans," Yukina looked down and said in a low voice. "Even if ghouls can't live with just blood, there might be a way we can coexist..."

Shinohara looked at Yukina sternly. "Coexisting with ghouls might be good as an ideal. But they eat us, and we get eaten. That has always been our relationship. It's impossible to realize such an ideal."

"...Maybe we can't coexist with all ghouls," said Yukina, "but...if we can at least save the ghouls who are kind at heart and eat humans only because they need to in order to survive, then...I think we can make progress."

"What do you mean by 'progress?'" Shinohara asked.

"It means that the world will become more peaceful," said Yukina. "All we're doing right now is killing ghouls, but violence only results in more violence. The world might become more safe for humans if we exterminate all ghouls, but that's impossible...and even if it is possible, I feel sorry for kind-hearted ghouls and child ghouls. If we research more, we might able to live together with the cooperative ones. And as humans and ghouls start to respect each other more, human predation will decrease, and ghouls won't have to worry about them or their loved ones being killed just because of what they were born into."

Shinohara tilted his head and said, "As I said earlier, that's a nice ideal, for all of us to live in harmony. But since we don't respect each other, as of right now, there's no way we can realize that."

Just then, the car came to a stop.

"We've arrived," said the investigator who was driving the truck.

Everyone got out of the car and took their Quinque out. Yukina looked around. All she could see down the road were cars owned by the CCG, from which investigators came out one after another. Juuzou joined Yukina, Amon, and Shinohara, and the four stood behind the shooting squad. The shooting squad waited quietly for the signal fire, and once it went up, they started firing all at once. However, the Aogiri's shooting squad also started firing. The investigators who stood behind the shooting squad waited for a chance to go in and attack, but after around 20 minutes had passed, it seemed like the CCG was losing.

Then, Marude came forward with a rifle in his hand.

"Guys! Hurry up and finish them off!" Marude yelled, and fired a few shots. Almost all of them hit the Aogiri's ghouls.

"Wow..." Yukina stared at him, amazed. Suddenly, she heard a motorcycle's engine start from behind her. She and others around her turned around.

"Is that...?" Marude started to say, also turning around.

"Yup, it's your motorcycle, Marude-san," an investigator who stood next to him said.

On the motorcycle was Juuzou Suzuya, the only rank-3 investigator who was not in the shooting squad.

"Uh...Suzuya-san...?" Yukina called. But Juuzou was not paying attention to anything around him.

"I'm borrowing this!" Juuzou said with a big smile, and he took off.

"Hey...wait wait wait wait wait," Marude said, looking at his motorcycle with a horror-stricken face as it zoomed by him.

"No...oh no no no no no..." Sweat ran down Marude's face, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Hey hey hey hey!" Marude's cried, just as his motorcycle went up in the air.

Juuzou jumped off the motorcycle and went into the building through a window.

"Good...eve...ning!" he shouted with a smile, and took down the Aogiri's ghouls around him. He then looked at the investigators down below and put his hands up in the air, laughing, as though he was saying, "Hooray!" At the same time, the motorcycle hit the building and exploded in the air.

Marude's gritted his teeth and yelled, "Attaaaaaack!"

The investigators who were standing behind the shooting squad started running towards the building.

"Suzuya-san!" Yukina shouted, and started running too with her Quinque in her hands.

"No, wait, Yukina...!" Amon called, but Yukina was already inside the building.

 _What should I do? Should I go after her?_ Amon thought, looking helplessly at the building. _But she and I were supposed to be with Shinohara-san... If I go after her, then -_

"Amon!" Shinohara called, putting his right hand on Amon's left shoulder. Amon looked at Shinohara, who looked back at him with a serious expression.

"I will be going in with Kuroiwa and others, as planned. Can you take care of Juuzou and Teshigawara?"

"Yes, sir!" Amon said, looking relieved. He then went inside the building, chasing Yukina, who was going after Juuzou.


	15. Part 2: Chapter 4

The first floor of the Aogiri Tree's 11th Ward Tree was a battlefield. The investigators split up into three groups and were fighting against the ghouls. Amon looked around but did not see Yukina anywhere on the first floor.

 _Since she went after Juuzou, maybe she went up to the second or third floor...?_ Amon thought, and he ran up the stairs. When he got to the second floor, he saw Yukina by herself with her Quinque in her hands, looking around with a worried expression.

"Hey, Yukina! Don't go off by yourself!" Amon said, running towards her.

Yukina turned around. "Amon-san!" she said, and she quickly lowered her head. "I-I'm sorry! I was worried about Suzuya-san, and I..."

"It's all right," said Amon. "Well, I mean, it wasn't okay that you went off by yourself, but Shinohara-san asked me to find Juuzou with you, so let's..."

Amon froze. Across from him, he saw a ghoul running with a mask that looked very familiar.

"Wait! Why are you here?!" he yelled.

Yukina looked at him, surprised at his angry outburst. "W-what happened?" she asked hesitantly and looked behind her.

The ghoul stopped running and slowly turned around - it had on a rabbit mask.

"'Rabbit'...?! No way, why is the Rabbit in the Aogiri?!" Yukina exclaimed in puzzlement.

But Amon ran straight to the ghoul and attacked with his Quinque.

"I won't let you go...!" he said, gritting his teeth. He then started attacking the ghoul in a frenzy, while the ghoul defended itself with its Ukaku.

Yukina stood there looking at them, not knowing what to do.

 _Amon-san is...losing self-control?! I mean, Mado-san was killed by Rabbit, so I understand why, but..now isn't the time for revenge. We have something more important to do!_

"Amon-san! We need to go look for..." Yukina started to say, but before she could finish, the ghoul ran away in a flash. As the ghoul ran, the ghoul shot numerous blades from its Ukaku. Amon blocked all the blades with his Quinque, but when he looked around, the Rabbit had already disappeared.

"Wait!" Amon shouted, starting to go off in the direction the ghoul went.

"Amon-san! We shouldn't chase the ghoul too far!" Yukina called, but Amon wasn't listening. Suddenly, a different Kagune...no, two Kagune blocked Amon's way and attacked him.

 _Clang! Clang!_

"Wha-" Amon said, flinging off the Kagune with his Quinque. Then, two ghouls appeared in front of him.

"Dang, you have a strong body," one of them said.

"Are you really a human?" said the other, tilting his head.

They drew back their Kagune, and Amon stepped back and stood next to Yukina to keep a little distance from them.

Yukina turned pale when she noticed the mask's design.

"Tail...Brothers..." she whispered, trembling.

"'Tail Brothers'?! That's sooo lame!" one of them exclaimed with a sigh.

"Call us 'Bin Brothers,'" said the other.

"Though I guess it doesn't matter since they're gonna die!" the other said, and both giggled.

"Wait a second..." Amon said, looking at Yukina. "Aren't they the ones in...that incident?"

Yukina nodded, not taking her eyes off the two ghouls. "Yes...they are the ones who killed Aoi-chan...my partner...!" she said with a grim look.

One of the brothers tilted his head and scratched the back of his neck. "Hm? Your friend died?" he asked, nonchalantly.

"Then go to the other world to see her!" the other said, and the two attacked Yukina simultaneously with their Kagune.


	16. Part 2: Chapter 5

_Clang!_

"...!" Yukina flung off one of the brothers' attack with her dagger-like Quinque, but she wasn't quick enough to fling off the other.

 _Clang!_

"Yukina! We're going one-on-one!" Amon said as he blocked the other brother's attack with his Quinque.

"Okay!" Yukina replied without taking her eyes off the ghoul.

"Ooh, interesting," said the ghoul facing Yukina.

"How far can you go?" said the ghoul facing Amon.

The two ghouls then started attacking Yukina and Amon.

 _Clang! Clash! Clang!_

Yukina tightly gripped her Quinque with both of her hands and flung off his attacks, but the best she could do was to defend herself. She couldn't get a chance to attack.

"Aaahhh!" Amon suddenly yelled from a distance. Yukina looked up, and behind the shoulders of the ghoul whom she was fighting with, she saw Amon hit the other ghoul right in the chest with his Quinque.

"Gah...!" the ghoul coughed up blood and fell on the floor with a thud.

The ghoul who was attacking Yukina withdrew his Kagune and took a few steps back. He turned around and stared in shock.

"No...way..." he said, looking at his brother lying motionless on the floor.

Yukina, noticing that this was her chance, quickly attacked him.

 _Clang!_

"You...!" the ghoul said through gritted teeth, defending her Quinque with his Kagune. He then flung off her attack and attacked her, this time much stronger than before.

 _He became stronger out of rage...?!_ Yukina clenched her teeth as she blocked the attack. She could not shake off his Kagune.

"Yukina!" Amon shouted, running toward them.

"Amon-san!" Yukina shouted back, and she flung off the ghoul with all her might. The ghoul staggered back, and Amon hit him on the head from behind. The ghoul fell on the floor and lay silent.

"Amon-san, is that Quinque...?" Yukina said, looking at Amon's Quinque mysteriously. _It's different from the one he used in that incident,_ she thought.

"Amon looked at his set of Quinque, split up into two.

"Oh...this is called 'Kura.' I got it from Mado-san," he said.

"It was...amazing," said Yukina. "I wasn't even close to killing one of them."

"No, you did a great job fighting an S-rated ghoul. And I don't know if I would have won if I was alone," said Amon.

"...Thank you," Yukina said, smiling faintly. "I'm glad I was at least able to support you,"

Amon looked over at the two ghouls and said, "By the way...don't you want to strike them once?"

"Hm? Why? They're already dead," Yukina said, tilting her head in wonder.

"I mean, well..." Amon spoke hesitantly, "they killed your friend, you know."

"Oh..." Yukina said, glancing at the ghouls. But then, she looked at Amon straight in the eyes and said, "No, we can't waste time here for revenge. We need to find Suzuya-san. I can tell he's strong, but it's too dangerous to be walking around here by himself."

"Ah, well, yeah, you're right," said Amon. "All right, let's go find him."

"But...where is he...?" Yukina said, looking around. Suddenly, they heard a high-pitched laughter and a series of clashing sounds coming from below.

"Is that...Suzuya-san?!" Yukina exclaimed.

"Let's go see!" Amon said. Yukina nodded, and they ran down the hallway and hurried down the stairs. As they ran across the first floor towards where the voice came from, Yukina saw a ghoul running, far away from where they were. He had on a black mask with a face drawn on it, and he killed the investigators who blocked his path by shooting out blades from his Ukaku; he then stopped, lifted his mask, and looked around. He was a young ghoul with sharp, red eyes and curly, dark-blue hair.

 _Wait...that hair...that face...is he the one who let me go back in sixth grade...?!_

Yukina stopped running and stared at the ghoul. The ghoul mumbled something, put his mask back on, and ran in the other direction. Yukina's feet turned towards the ghoul, but Amon's voice stopped her.

"Hey, what are you doing Yukina!" Amon stopped running and called.

"Oh, um..." said Yukina, turning around and looking at Amon. _I want to talk with him,_ she thought, _but...finding Suzuya-san is more important right now!_ "Sorry, I'm coming!" Yukina shouted, and she ran towards Amon.

 _..._ _That ghoul was an Ukaku. I probably won't be able to catch up with him even if I chase him,_ Yukina told herself as she ran.

After they ran for a while, Yukina heard noise coming from outside - sounds of weapons clashing violently. When she looked outside the window, she saw a relatively small but tall, detached building.

"Wait, Amon-san!" Yukina shouted.

"What?" Amon stopped and asked.

"That building," Yukina said, pointing her finger at the building, "there's a severe battle going on in there! It might be Suzuya-san!"

"All right, let's go check!" Amon said, and he jumped out the window. Yukina followed him, and the two ran to the building.


	17. Part 2: Chapter 6

Amon and Yukina stopped in front of the door of the building. Amon put his ear against the wall.

"Did it get a bit quieter...?" he mumbled.

Yukina placed her ear against the wall too.

"I don't hear sounds of weapons clashing, but...I think I hear faint voices," she whispered.

"Okay. I'll go in first, so you follow me from a distance, all right? Be very careful."

"Okay!"

Yukina stood behind Amon. Amon tried to push open the door, but when he saw that it wouldn't open, he kicked it with all his might. The door broke, and Amon rushed into the building. Yukina followed him; the building seemed to have only one large room with a tall ceiling, and there was blood splattered across the floor.

"Ugh..." Yukina frowned at the smell of blood. Then, she noticed there were two ghouls at the back of the room. One of the ghouls was a big one, and it lay motionless on the floor. The other ghoul, who had white hair and a Rinkaku and was of a normal build, was sitting on top of the big ghoul. Yukina squinted her eyes and looked at the scene in disbelief.

 _That white-haired ghoul...is he eating the big ghoul...?!_

The white-haired ghoul, who seemed to have noticed them coming in, looked at them. He was young despite his hair color, and he had blood smeared around his mouth. What was most surprising about the ghoul, though, was that he only had one Kakugan.

"Are you...Eye Patch?!" shouted Amon, who was standing a few feet in front of Yukina.

The ghoul stood up and wiped blood off his mouth.

"Wait," said Yukina, "but doesn't he have black ha - " Before Yukina could finish, the white-haired ghoul whizzed past them with unbelievable speed. Amon and Yukina turned their heads around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Wait!" Amon yelled, turning his body toward the door. But he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and looked back just in time to defend himself from the big ghoul's attack. The big ghoul, who was strong despite being badly hurt, attacked Amon ferociously.

"Uh...!" Amon muttered, defending the ghoul's continuous attacks with his Quinque.

The ghoul, whose Kagune covered the top of his head and from his right shoulder to right hand, mumbled in a deep voice. "I'm gonna...eat you, and then...I'll eat that guy...I'll smash him into tiny bits!" He cracked the fingers on his left hand and laughed loudly, as he continued flinging his right arm at Amon.

"Are you...Jason?" Amon asked, staring at the ghoul's face. His Kagune seemed to have evolved compared to when Amon fought with him before, but his voice and build was exactly like before.

Yukina suddenly attacked Yamori from behind, trying to catch him off guard. However Yamori grasped her Quinque with his left hand without even turning around.

"...!" Yukina clenched her teeth pushed down her Quinque with all her strength, but it did not even budge. _Why...how can a such a badly-hurt ghoul be able to grasp the Quinque with his bare hand...?!_

"I'm gonna regain some energy and go kill that guy," Yamori turned around and looked at her, sneering. "I'm gonna eat this guy, but I don't need a scrawny human like y... Hm?"

Yamori smelled the air. Suddenly, his smile disappeared, and he looked down at Yukina suspiciously. "Rize's smell...?" he muttered.

"Huh...?" Without giving her a chance to say anything, Yamori slammed Amon with his Kagune and stepped on his back with his right foot, pinning him to the ground.

"Gah...!" Amon tired to lift his body up, but he couldn't move.

"Amon-sa... Woah!" Yamori held up Yukina's Quinque when she tried to call Amon. Yukina, who grabbed on to her Quinque, was lifted in the air.

"A skinny human won't give me energy. But your smell...are you Rize's relative or something? Why are you an investigator who you're a ghoul? C'mon, show me your Kagune!" Yamori said, looking at her with an evil grin.

"What are you...I'm...a human..." Yukina tried to argue, but the best she could do was to not let go of her Quinque.

Yamori tilted his head to the side and said, "If you're a ghoul, then I can get Rc cells by eating you, but if not, then it's just a waste of time and energy. Hey, so what _are_ you, really? If your life is in danger, will you show your Kagune?!" He then punched her in the stomach with his Kagune.

"Ah...!" Yukina gasped. She was flung across the room, hit her back on the wall, and fell on the floor face-down.

"Huh, nothing happened," said Yamori, disappointed. He then looked at Amon and said, "I guess it was just my imagination, then. Now, I shall eat you..." Yamori lifted up his right arm.

"...Amon-san!" Yukina yelled, pulling herself up from the floor.

 _I dropped my Quinque when he punched me,_ Yukina thought as she ran towards Amon. _I don't have anything to fight with, but I can't let Jason kill him...!_ Yukina threw herself on top of Amon to shield him from the blow. Yamori looked at her and sneered.

"No, don't," Amon said, turning his head to the left and grabbing Yukina's wrist. He tried to move, but he could neither brush off Yamori's foot nor pull Yukina away. "Yu - "

At that moment, Yamori flung his Kagune at them. Yukina closed her eyes tight and scrunched up her shoulders.

 _Clang!_

A high-pitched sound rang across the room. Yukina felt something hard hit her. However, she felt no pain. It felt like her shoulder was being lightly pushed down.

When Yukina opened her eyes, she saw Amon's eye staring at her, as though he was looking at something horrifying... No, he was not looking at her, but something behind her.

Yukina turned her head around, and saw that an Ukaku had come out of the back of her shoulders, protecting her from Yamori's Kagune.

"...A one-eyed ghoul?!" Yamori exclaimed, taking a few steps back.

 _...Now's the chance!_ Yukina remembered how the Ukaku ghoul she saw earlier that day shot out blades from his Ukaku. She tensed her shoulders and instinctively shot out numerous blades at Yamori from her single wing. Yamori, who was staring at her in horror, had no time to defend himself. The blades pierced through him, and he fell on the floor on his back.

Suddenly, Yukina's body felt heavy. She looked down at the floor and tried to support herself with her arms, but she started to feel dizzy. As her arms gave up on her and she fell on the floor, she saw her single red eye in the reflection on the black-and-white tiles. She then blacked out.

END OF PART 2


	18. Part 3: Chapter 1

When Yukina woke up, she was lying on a bed in a small room. The ceiling, the wall, and her blanket were all white, and next to her bed stood an IV stand.

 _...Am I in a hospital?_

Yukina stared at the ceiling for a while, but suddenly, she sat up.

 _Wait a second,_ she thought, frantically looking around. _Could this be...Cochlea?!_

But when she looked out the window, she saw trees, cars running on roads, and buildings all over the place. Yukina lied back down on her bed, relieved.

"...Why...Why did that happen?" she mumbled, remembering what happened before she blacked out.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. When the door opened, she saw Amon standing there.

"Oh, Yukina," Amon said, looking at her with surprise. "Glad to see you regained consciousness. It's been almost four days since that night, you know."

"Oh, I...I actually woke up just now," Yukina said, dropping her gaze to avoid making eye contact.

Amon walked towards her and sat down on a chair next to her bed. He set down his Quinque case and handed her a paper bag. "This is for you," he said. "It's pound cake. I didn't know when you'll wake up, so I wasn't sure if I should buy this, but I'm glad I did."

"Thank you," Yukina said, setting the bag on her lap.

"How are you feeling?" Amon asked casually.

"Oh, um, I actually don't feel much pain. But my body still feels heavy," she said. "Um...this is a hospital, right?"

"Yes," said Amon, "I just finished writing and turned in my report on the Aogiri Tree 11th Ward Base Attack. I was able to leave the office early, so I stopped by here. Oh, by the way, it's six in the evening right now."

"Oh, I see..." Yukina said. She swallowed hard and, looking down at her blanket, asked, "Amon-san...what happened after I lost consciousness?"

Amon closed his eyes and said, "The ground started shaking, and when I went outside, I saw the main building collapsing. So I carried you outside."

"The Base collapsed...?! What happened to Jason?" Yukina asked, turning around to look at Amon.

Amon opened his eyes. "...Juuzou came in as I was walking out of the room, carrying you on my shoulders," he said, looking off to the side. "He must have been fighting somewhere else, because he was covered in blood - not his blood, but probably the ghouls'. Anyway, he said, 'Ooh! Found Jason!' and he dashed towards him. When I turned around, I saw Jason struggling to get on his feet. Juuzou delivered a final blow and carried him out of the room so that he can get his Kagune be made into a new Quinque. I went back to the car with him."

Yukina looked down again and asked, "...Did you write anything about what happened in the room before I lost consciousness? Like...what I did to Jason?"

"I just wrote that Jason was being eaten by a white-haired ghoul, and that the white-haired ghoul left the room when he saw us coming in," Amon said in a clam tone. "We finished off Yamori, but you hit your body hard against the wall and lost consciousness. Then, the building started shaking and as I was carrying you out, Juuzou came in. Apparently, we didn't kill him completely, and so Juuzou delivered the final blow."

"Is that...all you wrote?"

"That's all I wrote," said Amon, looking straight at Yukina. "I actually emailed you the pdf of the report, so you can read that when you get a chance. It also explains why the building collapsed and everything."

Yukina did not reply. She was still looking down at her blanket, silent. Suddenly, she looked at Amon and said, "Amon-san, I...I'm a human! I-I don't know why that happened, but I...I...!"

"Relax, Yukina. I know," said Amon, looking at her calmly. "Well, it might be a lie to say, 'I know'...I'm confused at what's going on, too." He sighed and scratched the back of his neck.

"But...you believe me? That I'm a human?"

"...Yes, I want to believe that."

Amon lifted his Quinque case off the floor and stood up. "...That thing activated when you protected me, so I'm partly responsible for what happened. So whatever the truth is, I won't tell anyone about it."

"...Thank you," said Yukina.

"Take care," said Amon. He walked to the door and left the room.

Yukina looked at the paper bag, which had the name of a bakery on it. There was a box inside, and when she opened it, she found four slices of coffee-flavored pound cake, individually wrapped. Yukina opened one and slowly brought the pound cake to her mouth. She took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. And then, she smiled.

"It's tasty...I'm so glad..." she said, tears rolling down her cheek. She wiped the tears with her hand and finished the whole slice.


	19. Part 3: Chapter 2

Amon, who was not hospitalized, went back to the 20th Ward Branch Office right after he got treatment for his injuries and continued the investigation of the Eye Patch by himself. Yukina left the hospital three days after Amon talked with her, got a new Quinque from the Main Office, and came back to the 20th ward. To Amon's surprise, all she did was gather data about the Eye Patch; she did not mention anything about what happened at the Aogiri's Base or their talk at the hospital.

 _I thought she would be concerned about the truth...about why that thing happened. Is she going to keep working as an investigator, acting like nothing had happened?_ thought Amon. He glanced at Yukina, who was looking through data on the Eye Patch on the computer. He's been carefully observing her recently, but it seemed like she was eating fine. She didn't fit his description of a ghoul at all. The only thing he noticed was that she didn't seem have passion or energy, but that, he assumed, might be because she just got out of the hospital and was still tired.

Amon turned back to his computer and looked through the data on the Eye Patch. _The Eye Patch... Why was he there that night with Jason...no, eating Jason?_ _Does he have something to do with the Aogiri?_ _Is he one of them, or their enemy?_

Questions kept arising, but without answers. And so, days passed by with nothing much happening.

Then, one day, Amon got a call from the Headquarter's receptionist.

"...Yes. Sure. We'll investigate that. No problem. Bye," Amon said. He hung up the phone, looked at Yukina, and said, "It seems like there was a call from a woman in the 20th Ward, saying that she saw her friend's boyfriend telling her friend that he was a ghoul. She got worried about her friend and reported the man."

"...I see," Yukina replied indifferently, not taking her eyes off the computer.

"Um..." Amon stopped, trying to figure out what to say next. "Um, but...yeah, we first need to find out whether he's really a ghoul or not, so we will ask him - no, _make_ him - measure his Rc level. If he's a ghoul, he may try to resist and get his Kagune out, or he might comply but forge his data to make his Rc level seem low. If the latter is the case, we will have to observe him for a while. Because if he's a ghoul, he has to get human flesh about once a month."

"Okay. Oh, I just got an email that says his personal information," Yukina said, still looking at her computer.

Amon checked his email. "All right," he said, "let's print this out and go to his house. Good thing he lives in a house and not an apartment...we won't have to worry too much about his neighbors if we get into a fight."

"Yes. Well then, I'll print out two copies," Yukina said, clicking the "Print" button.

Amon looked at Yukina again. _Seems like she really has no energy,_ Amon thought. _But as an investigator, she needs motivation when it comes to investigating and fighting ghouls. She needs the mindset that she will keep fighting, even if she were to lose her arms or legs._

He looked at her with a worried expression, but he couldn't think of anything to say. The two turned their computers off and went to the man's house.


	20. Part 3: Chapter 3

The man was in his early twenties. He had black hair and was of medium build. When he opened the door, he seemed surprised to see Amon and Yukina at his door, but he greeted them casually.

"Hello. How can I help you?" he asked, looking a little tense.

"We are investigators from the CCG 20th Ward Branch Office," Amon said, showing his ID card. "There was a call saying that you're a ghoul, so we want you to take a blood test."

The man stared at his ID card with an uninterested expression. After a while, he laughed softly.

"Oh, ha ha. I see," he said, covering his eyes with his right hand. "So she reported me after all... It was stupid for me to trust her just because she was my girlfriend!"

He took his hand off his face and looked at them, showing his Kakugan. Tentacle-like Kagune appeared from his back. Amon and Yukina quickly opened their Quinque case.

"After all, humans are humans, huh?!" he yelled, and his Kagune swarmed towards them.

 _Bam!_

Amon flung his Quinque down and smashed one of his tentacles into the ground. He lifted his Quinque, prepared to attack. But before he could move, Yukina cut off the tentacles that tried to attack her and went straight toward the ghoul, slashing him from his left shoulder to the right side of his hip with her new, sword-like Quinque.

"Gah...ah..." the ghoul gasped, coughing up blood. He staggered backward and fell on his back.

Yukina turned around and looked at Amon, who stood there, dumbfounded. "Seems like he really was a ghoul," she said. "Now, let's finish up our job. I'll call the bureau investigators."

Yukina started to put her left hand in her skirt's pocket to take out her cellphone, but Amon suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Wait, Yukina! Are you really okay with this?!" he yelled, unable to articulate what he wanted to say.

Yukina looked up at Amon and asked, "What do you mean by that? He was obviously a ghoul, so I killed him. I just did my job."

"...Don't you remember what you said?" he asked, looking at her sternly. "You told me that you're thinking whether we really have to kill all ghouls. But look at you - you killed a ghoul, who is probably one of the less-violent ones, without hesitation. He even had a girlfriend, and he had to die without knowing the truth, that it was his girlfriend's friend who reported him, not his girlfriend!"

"..." Yukina lowered her gaze and remained silent.

"I don't know if you've noticed this yourself," Amon continued, "but you always seem lifeless, ever since you came back to this ward. Why is that?"

"...Because...it's easier for me this way," Yukina spoke in a low voice. Her left hand trembled slightly. "If I take sides with ghouls, it...it seems as if I'm a ghoul too. As a human, I should kill ghouls, not think about protecting them. Isn't that right?"

"Humans aren't like machines!" Amon yelled. Yukina flinched. Amon softened his voice and said, "I'm a human, but because of that incident with the Eye Patch, I stopped thinking that all ghouls are violent, savage-like monsters. Isn't it normal for humans to be swayed between two emotions?"

After a moment of silence, Yukina answered, "But...after that incident, I can't help thinking that I might be part-ghoul. I mean, I have a Kagune and a Kakugan... You saw it, right? How closer can I be to a ghoul?" Her voice trembled as she spoke, and Amon let go of her wrist. Yukina lowered her head and covered her eyes with her hand. "Even though I can eat normally, I still get scared sometimes. I want to stay human, but recently...when I was walking through the city, just for a moment, I...I thought humans smell good, and...and I...!"

"But what's good about looking away from the truth?" Amon asked. "Shouldn't you try to figure out who you really are, and then decide what to do from now on? Continuing to work as an investigator like this, killing your emotions...it doesn't make you a human, but just a machine."

Amon squatted down in front of Yukina, and looked at her in the face. "Like I said before, I'm partly responsible for what happened. So whatever the truth is, I won't tell anyone without your permission."

Yukina took her hand off her face and looked at Amon. Looking at Amon's sincere face, she smiled and asked "...What kind of investigator will let go of a ghoul?"

"I think I'm making the right decision as a man," Amon responded, smiling.

Yukina took out a cloth from her Quinque case, wiped the blood off her Quinque, and put her Quinque back in the case. "Thank you, Amon-san. I will think about it carefully."

Amon nodded. But Yukina frowned and said, "But how can I find out the truth? I don't have parents, and I don't know anything about my grandparents or other relatives..."

"Hmm...is there anyone else who might be able to ask about you or your parents?" Amon asked.

Yukina shook her head sideways and slowly said, "Maybe I should try measuring my Rc level..."

"No, don't do that," Amon said firmly. "You'll need to go to a hospital to get your blood tested, and whatever your result may be, the fact that you took a blood test will seem suspicious to the CCG."

"Hmm..." Yukina thought for a moment. Suddenly, she gasped and held her hands by her mouth. "Wait a second! There's...there's a letter!"

"A letter?" Amon asked, tilting his head in wonder.

"Yes," Yukina said, suddenly becoming eager. "Two years ago, when my mother passed away, I found a sealed envelope in my mother's desk's drawers. It said, 'To 15-year-old Yukina,' and I put it in a box along with her other belongings. But I got busy with Academy work, and I forgot about it. But I still have the box! I took it with me every time I moved."

"All right," Amon said, standing up. "Once we're done with this case, you can go home. I'll write the report."

"Um, Amon-san!" Yukina said, holding his sleeves. "Will you please come to my apartment with me? I-I don't think I can muster muster up the courage to open it if I'm alone..."

Amon hesitated for a moment, but said, "Oh, uh, okay. Then I'll write the report tomorrow. For right now, let's call the bureau investigators."

Amon took his cellphone out of his back pocket. Yukina looked at the male ghoul, walked over to him, and crouched down.

"The person who reported you was not your girlfriend, but your girlfriend's friend. Your girlfriend didn't betray you. So please don't hate her. I'm an investigator, so I need to kill ghouls like you, no matter what kind of person you are. But I could've at least told you this... I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier. Please rest in peace," Yukina said, closing her eyes and putting her hands together. She covered his eyes with her hand and closed his eyelids. Then, she stood up and walked back towards Amon.


	21. Part 3: Chapter 4

After they called the bureau investigators and explained the situation to them, they were told that they could go now.

As they walked toward the subway station, Yukina asked, "Do you want to go back to the office once, or...?"

"No, let's just go straight to your house," Amon said.

"Okay," Yukina said. After that, neither of them talked. The two silently walked to the subway station, got on the train, got off, and walked to Yukina's house. They went up the stairs of her apartment and to her room, with Yukina leading the way. Yukina opened the door and went inside, and Amon followed her. They put their Quinque cases down by the entrance and went through the kitchen and into Yukina's bedroom, which was rather small but very clean and tidy.

"It should be in here," Yukina said, pulling out a cardboard box from her closet. She opened the lids and searched through it. It was neatly organized, and she quickly found the letter, which was sorted among other papers in the box. Yukina held the envelope in her hands, titled "To 15-year-old Yukina," and stared at it for a while.

"...Is that it?" Amon spoke.

"Yes," said Yukina. "Please give me a second so I can read it." She opened the envelope, took out two sheets of paper folded in half, and opened and read the letters silently to herself.

 _Dear Yukina,_

 _Happy 15th Birthday! I can't believe you're already 15 years old. Well, when I'm writing this, you're still 12, but...there's something that I decided to tell you when you turn 15, but it seems like I won't live for very long. So I'll leave you this letter, and hopefully, you'll read it when you're 15._

 _First of all, I want to tell you about your dad. Your dad and I met when we were in college. We were both in gardening club, and we were shy at first because we were freshmen. But we got close as we talked about flowers, and we started going out when we were sophomores._

 _We continued going out even after we graduated. I was waiting for him to propose to me, but he didn't. So one year, on Christmas, I asked him if he would marry me. He started to say something, but he hesitated and started to cry quietly. I remember being surprised because it was the first time I saw a grown man cry. After a while, he said he loved me and explained to me why he couldn't say yes, and why he never proposed to me._

 _Your dad's dad, or your grandfather, was a ghoul. And your dad, half-ghoul and half-human, had to eat what ghouls eat, and he's suffered from this all his life._

 _I've actually never hated ghouls. I just thought it's scary that they eat humans, but at the same time, I felt sorry for them because they were born that way. It wasn't their choice to be born as a ghoul, but because they were, they had to eat humans and constantly worry about the ghoul investigators killing them. So when your dad told me he was a half-ghoul, I was surprised, but I didn't reject him. I said, "Oh, so ghouls aren't bad people like they always say on the news," and I hugged him and told him that I love him regardless of whether he's a human or not._

 _But since my life might be put in danger if we marry, your dad suggested not to officially marry. If the CCG finds out that your dad is a ghoul, then I might be punished too, you know. So we never married. Your last name, Teshigawara, is my last name, and your dad's is "Mitsuse."_

 _Unfortunately, you probably don't remember your dad because_ _when you were only one year old,_ _someone found him eating and reported to the CCG, and he was killed by investigators. I was prepared that this might happen someday, but I couldn't help hating humans for killing ghouls without thinking about their character or family. But then, I couldn't blame the investigators, since ghouls are indeed predators to humans, though not_ merely _predators (if they were, I wouldn't be married to your dad). I blamed the world for being so cruel, making ghouls the ones who eat humans, and humans the ones who get eaten._

 _And so I suppressed my anger toward the CCG by telling myself that it's not their fault but the way the world is made up. This couldn't be helped. I didn't talk to you about your dad much for the past 11 years because I feared that I might remember this feeling of anger... I didn't want you to see me with a face full of hatred._

 _You've been able to eat and live like a human ever since you were born, but after your dad died, I started thinking, "What should I do if you start showing characteristics of a ghoul?" I can't give you a good advice because I don't know much about ghouls. So when you were two years old, I wrote a letter to an old friend of his. His friend responded that we can come by any time and that he will gladly talk with us. I felt relieved, and I decided to go to him for help if I ever need it._

 _I wonder how you are right now as a fifteen-year-old? I hope you're still able to live normally, but even if you start to see changes in your body, don't worry. Go to a cafe in the 20th ward called "Anteiku," and talk to the manager there. Tell him that you're Mitsuse's daughter. He has a great understanding of ghouls, so ask him anything._

 _This whole letter might be absurd and unbelievable, and I'm sorry if this letter makes you confused and stressed out...but I just want to tell you one thing. Going back to when I was pregnant, I didn't go to the hospital because I feared they might find out that you're a part-ghoul. So I gave birth to you at home. Since I didn't know if you were going to be a boy or a girl until you were born, your dad and I thought of a girl name and a boy name. We decided on Yukina if it was a girl - "Yuki" meaning "happy" and taking a part of my name,"na" - and Yuuki if it was a boy - "Yuu" meaning "exist" and "ki" meaning "rare." You were a girl so we named you Yukina, but I hope our wish will come true: that you will live happily, knowing that you can exist and that we're glad that you exist, even if you are a rare type of person._

 _This is my opinion, but I think ghouls have the right to live just like humans do. I know this sounds ironic since ghouls eat humans and humans kill ghouls, but we should all have the right to live from the moment we are born into this world. So even if you start seeing aspects of a ghoul in you as you grow older, please know that you have the right to live. You're our one and only precious daughter, and we want you to live a happy life._

 _Love,_

 _Mom_

After reading the letter, Yukina buried her face into the letters and let out a big sigh.

"...My mom...she became ill when I was 11. It says here that there was something she wanted to tell me when I turn 15, but since she thought she might not live until then, she wrote this letter when I was 12. It makes sense, since my mom was serious and kind of a worrywart," Yukina said, her voice trembling.

Amon watched her quietly and waited for her to continue. After a moment of silence, Yukina lifted her face and looked at Amon with a distressed expression. "According to the letter, my grandfather on my dad's side is a ghoul," she said with a frown.

"What?!" Amon exclaimed, unable to hide his surprise. "Even half-ghouls are unusual, but a quarter...?"

"Yes, I've never heard of a quarter-ghoul," Yukina said, folding the letters back in half. "I think I was able to live as a human because my body was so close to a human's. But I guess something triggered my ghoul part to start functioning."

"So I guess _that_ was the trigger... I'm sorry, Yukina," Amon said, looking ashamed.

"No, I'm responsible for my own actions. You don't have to apologize," Yukina said. She opened the letters once more, and after glancing through them once more, she folded them again and put them back in the envelope. "But I'm not sure if I want to keep working as an investigator, so could you please give me some time to think by myself?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. Well then, I'll be going now," said Amon.

"Okay, see you tomorrow...I mean, on Monday."

Yukina put the envelope with the letters in it on her desk, and she and Amon went to the door. As Amon put on his shoes, Yukina smiled wryly and said, "I'm sorry for betraying you, Amon-san."

Amon looked at Yukina and asked, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Yukina looked back at him, surprised. "Um, well, because I insisted that I was a human, and you believed me, but...I was actually part-ghoul."

"Oh, I see. But like you told me earlier that I don't have to apologize, you don't have to either."

"Really...?"

"Yes. I mean, there are could've's and should've's. Like, if you read the letter two years ago, you could have taken time to think about whether you actually want to be an investigator or not. But it's not like you were lying to me on purpose, so I don't feel betrayed."

"...Thank you, Amon-san. Good night," Yukina said, bowing.

"It's your future, so think about it carefully, all right?" Amon said, picking up his Quinque case. "Good night," he said, and with that, he left Yukina's apartment room.

As Amon walked down the stairs of the apartment, he thought, _Ghouls are guilty only because they eat humans... Even if Yukina is a quarter ghoul, since she's never eaten humans, she isn't guilty. Is that right...Mado-san?_

But no matter how much he thought, he couldn't find an answer to his question.

Meanwhile, Yukina stood in front of the door, listening to Amon's footsteps become quieter and quieter. After it became quiet, she looked at her watch.

"7 o'clock... There's still time," Yukina said. She went to her room and changed into a light-yellow T-shirt, a pink jacket, and blue jeans. She left the apartment with nothing except her wallet and cellphone, and she walked in the darkness, heading to Anteiku.


	22. Part 3: Chapter 5

"Oh, hi Yukina," Amon greeted Yukina as she walked into their room. It was Monday morning, and Amon had come into the office just a few minutes before her.

"Good morning," Yukina said and sat down in her chair.

"I wrote the report on the ghoul we fought on Friday and turned it in on Saturday, so we can just continue investigating the Eye Patch," Amon said, turning on his computer.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry I didn't help you!" Yukina apologized. "I totally forgot about it..."

"Oh, no, don't worry," Amon said, waving his hand. "I wanted you to have time to think about, you know, whether you want to keep working as an investigator."

"...I've been thinking about it, but I haven't been able to come to a decision yet," Yukina said, turning on her computer. "But on the letter...my mom wrote the contact information of one of my dad's acquaintances, who knows a lot about ghouls. And I went to see that person."

"An acquaintance? ...Is that person a ghoul?" Amon looked at Yukina and asked, lowering his voice.

"No, he's a human...an old gentleman who's kind and helpful toward ghouls," Yukina explaine, turning around to face Amon. "And when I explained my current situation to him, he told me that there are two probable reason my Kagune suddenly appeared. One is that I hit my back against the wall really hard when Jason hit me, and that activated my Kakuhou."

"Wait, so you do have a Kakuhou, but it wasn't functioning until now...?"

Yukina nodded and said, "Apparently, my Kakuhou is really small and therefore was pretty much nonexistent. The other reason is that I was in a tight situation and was about to die, so my Kagune appeared to protect me."

"...I'm sorry," Amon said with a grave expression. "It's all because you tried to protect me..."

"No, _I'm_ responsible for my own actions," Yukina said. "Also, the man told me that I could most likely continue living as a human as long as I don't use my Kaguneanymore."

"Ah, so you can eat and live normally...that's good," Amon said.

"Mm-hmm. I feel glad about that," Yukina said turning around to log on to her computer. "But...when I found out that there were humans who are trying to help ghouls...Amon-san, I thought it _is_ possible for ghoul and humans to coexist. And I want to change the current situation...I want to change the CCG to make that happen."

Amon leaned back on his chair and looked at the ceiling.

"I still feel like it's merely an ideal," he said, "but I guess it could be possible if you can get a higher position in the CCG. But that will take years."

"Yes...and I might die before being able to do anything... Oh, Amon-san. There's an e-mail from the main office," Yukina said, checking her inbox.

Amon checked his and said, "Oh, yeah. Let's see..."

They both clicked on their e-mail and read it.

"Subject number 745 was seen in a bookstore in the 20th ward, so they would like us to investigate that...hmm. I wonder if they want us to investigate this case because we haven't made much progress in the Eye Patch's investigation," Yukina said, looking at the computer screen.

"No, I think they want us to investigate Number 745, or the Daughter Ghoul, because she's friends with the Eyepatch," said Amon, folding his arms in front of him. "If we can catch her, we might be able to find out his whereabouts. Even if we can't get any information out of her, I'd be glad enough if we can kill her since she's partially the reason Mado-san was killed."

"Friends with the Eyepatch...?" Yukina said, uncertainly.

Amon explained to her about the relationship between and the incidents concerning the Eye Patch, Daughter, and Rabbit.

"So, Mado-san killed Daughter's parents," Yukina said, "and Rabbit killed Mado-san in revenge..."

"Yes. Which means those three ghouls are most likely friends," said Amon.

Yukina looked at the e-mail again and said, "It says there will be twelve people in this investigation... That's a lot of investigators for one ghoul."

"I think it's because there's a slight chance of encountering the Eye Patch or Rabbit. Though if we do, twelve people won't be enough."

"Let's see, the ten people besides us are...oh!"

Just when Yukina exclaimed, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Amon said. The door opened, and Shinohara and Juuzou walked in.

Juuzou walked up to Yukina and joyfully asked, "Hey, did you see the e-mail?"

"Um, yes, just now. You and Shinohara-san are going to be investigating with us, right?" Yukina said.

"That's right," Shinohara said. "I'm thinking about holding a meeting at Meeting Room 2 from 2 PM with the eight other investigators. Sounds good?"

"Yes, I'll see you then," said Amon.

"All right. See you later," said Shinohara, walking towards the door.

"See you later," said Yukina.

"See you~," said Juuzou, following Shinohara out the door.

After they left the room, Amon looked through his drawers and took out a folder.

"This is the information we have regarding the Daughter. Look through it," said Amon, giving Yukina the folder.

"Thank you," Yukina said, receiving the folder. She looked through the pages carefully, and when she finished reading the last page, she mumbled, "So she's a...young girl."

Amon looked sideways at her and said, "You're going to get killed if you have that kind of thought when you're fighting. Child ghouls could be as strong as adult ghouls, or maybe even stronger."

Yukina closed the folder and said, "Yes, you're right...I haven't decided whether I want to continue working as an investigator, but as of right now, I am one. So I will complete my job as an investigator."

"All right," Amon said, "let's research as much as we can about the Daughter until 2 PM."

"Okay. I'll tell you if I find any information that seems helpful," said Yukina.

The two then faced their computers and quietly started researching. Amon was determined to catching and killing the Daughter because of her relevance with Mado's death. But Yukina just couldn't think about killing the young ghoul.

 _If a child had their parents killed...I can't blame them for taking revenge. And no matter whether a child is a ghoul or human, is there any legitimate reason for a child to be killed?_

But Yukina knew that if she were to say this to a human, they would say "A ghoul is a ghoul. Whether they're a child or an adult, it doesn't change the fact that they're evil since all ghouls must eat humans."

 _But...they_ must _eat humans. It's not by choice,_ Yukina argued within herself. She let out a deep sigh and looked through file with the data regarding the Daughter that was attached to the e-mail. But the more she found out about the young ghoul and the fate of her parents, she couldn't help feeling pity for her.

Yukina closed the window, and instead, she decided to search the area around the bookstore where she was seen.

END OF PART 3


	23. Part 4, Final Part: Chapter 1

The young female bookstore clerk sat behind the cash register, quietly reading a magazine. It was around noon on a weekday, and there were only a few adults in the small bookstore. The bookstore clerk turned the page and saw an article on the recent ghoul incidents in the 20th ward, which made her remember of a young girl.

 _I wonder if she really is a ghoul_ , she thought, reading about the atrocities of the ghouls.

The girl whom she was thinking about was an elementary school student who started coming to the bookstore since a few months ago. She only came once in a while, but when she did, it was always on a weekday at around noon. The bookstore clerk, who worked on most weekdays from morning to afternoon, thought that she wasn't going to school. So she talked with the manager and reported her to the police a few weeks ago.

The police then asked to see the bookstore's security camera to identify the child. When she gave them the data, they came into the store a few days later and called an emergency meeting with all the workers. Apparently, there are no children in this area who has been missing school repeatedly starting in November, so they said the child may be a ghoul, which would explain why she's not going to school. They instructed the bookstore clerks to immediately contact the CCG if she comes in again.

To say the truth, the female bookstore clerk did not feel any fear. The bookstore was small and there were only a few employees, and she knew the faces of many of the customers. She couldn't believe that someone dangerous like a ghoul would come into the bookstore, let alone doubt that the young girl is one.

Clang, the door made a sound as someone softly pushed it open.

"Hi, welcome," she said with a smile, looking up from the magazine. But when she noticed who it was, she opened her eyes wide.

"Hello," the customer said shyly, and walked straight to the novels section. The customer was a young girl with long black hair, a hat, and a mask - the girl who was suspected of being a ghoul.

The bookstore clerk stared at the girl and gulped. Just then, a woman's voice suddenly called her.

"Excuse me...Excuse me, miss."

When the bookstore clerk turned around, she saw a middle-aged lady in front of the register, holding a magazine in her hand.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry. Please wait one second," she said, and opened the door to the warehouse behind her. "Imai-san!" she called the man who was looking through boxes in the room. "Can you please switch places with me?"

Imai looked at her, surprised. "Huh? Why, Fukuda-san? Didn't you go to the restroom just a few minutes ago?" he asked.

"No, it's not that," Fukuda answered impatiently, "I have to make a call about 'that thing.'"

"Oh, _that_ ," Imai responded, walking toward the door. "Got it."

"Thank you," Fukuda said.

She went into the warehouse as Imai walked out. As Imai faced the customer and started to say, "Thank you for waiting..." she closed the door and picked up the store's phone. Then, looking at the number written on the notepad next to the phone, she called the CCG.

"Hi, this is Fukuda from xx Bookstore in the 20th ward," she told the receptionist who answered the phone. "The suspected girl came in just now, and...oh, so they'll be on their way now? Yes, she's still choosing a book...probably take a few more minutes...So I just need to talk with her for a while to buy some time? Sure, no problem. Bye."

Fukuda hang up the phone and wrote down what the receptionist told her on a notepad. She went out of the room and saw Imai standing behind the register, looking bored. The middle-aged female customer had already left.

"Imai-san, please read this," Fukuda said, handing him the notepad.

He read it and scratched the back of his neck, saying, "Um...I'm not really good at talking with girls."

"Let me handle this, then. You can go back to the warehouse," Fukuda said confidently, moving a step forward.

"All right. Be careful," Imai said, and he turned around and went inside the room.

"Thanks," Fukuda said. She heard the door close behind her.


	24. Part 4: Chapter 2

After about 20 minutes had passed, the young girl walked up to the register and put a book on the counter.

"Hi, how are you doing today?" Fukuda smiled and asked.

"Good," the girl said shyly as she took out her wallet.

Fukuda scanned the barcode. "Ah, Takatsuki-sensei's book. I love her works," she said as she punched the keyboard on the cash register.

"Oh, you've read her books before?" the girl looked at her and asked. She had on a mask, so Fukuda couldn't see her expression, but she seemed excited.

"Yeah. Well, not this one. But I watched the TV drama based on one of her novels, and I got into it and read the novel. And I became her fan," Fukuda explained.

"Oh, was the drama good?"

"Yeah, though I liked the book better," Fukuda said. "Your total is 750 yen."

The girl gave her 1000 yen.

"Out of 1000 yen," Fukuda said as she hit the keyboard. "It's amazing that you're reading Takatsuki-sensei's books, though. Aren't they hard? Like the vocab and the kanji she uses."

"...Yeah, I get stuck a lot. But then I look up the words with a dictionary, or...I ask someone older than me," the girl said with downcast eyes.

"Ah, that's good," Fukuda said as she gathered up coins. "Your change will be 250 yen."

The girl took the change and put it in her wallet. Fukuda put the book in a bag and gave it to her.

"Thank you. Have a nice day," Fukuda said with a smile.

"Thank you," the girl said, and she walked out the door.

When the door closed, Fukuda leaned back on the wall and let out a sigh. Suddenly, the door next to her opened and Imai came out of the storage room.

"Did she go?" Imai asked.

"Yup. It'll be a bit too unnatural to talk more than this," Fukuda responded.

"True. But hey, I didn't know that you read Takatsuki-sensei's books!" Imai said eagerly.

"Hm? Oh, I've only watched the drama," Fukuda said.

"Huh? But didn't you say...?"

"Oh, you were listening to our conversation? That was just to buy time because, you know, the CCG's receptionist told me to do so. I did like the drama though."

"How did you know that Takatsuki-sensei uses hard words?"

"I just heard that from my friend."

"Ah, I see. I kinda got excited that I can talk about her books with someone, but I guess not," Imai sighed. Seeing that Fukuda did not respond, he looked at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Fukuda said, looking outside of the windows. "I was just wondering if she really is a ghoul. If she's not, I feel kind of bad for reporting her to the police."

"Hmm...well, I don't think they'll kill her once they catch her, you know. They'll probably do some kind of testing and confirm that she's a ghoul before hurting her."

"Yeah, I guess. It's kind of weird that someone like her could be a human-killing monster," Fukuda said, smiling uncomfortably.

"Well, we can't tell the difference between ghouls and humans just from their appearance," Imai said.

"Yeah, you're right," Fukuda replied. _Or from their actions, if the girl really is a ghoul,_ Fukuda thought.

Just then, the door opened and a customer came in.

"Hello," Fukuda and Imai greeted the customer.

Behind the customer's shoulder, Fukuda caught a glimpse of two men in black suits standing in the alley on the other side of the road.


	25. Part 4: Chapter 3

Hinami turned to the right after she walked out the door. She started heading toward the subway station, when she noticed a familiar scent and stopped.

"...! This smell..."

Hinami covered her mouth with her left hand.

 _It makes me feel sick. It's the same as last time...my dad's scent...!_

Hinami closed her eyes tight. Then, she turned around and started walking away from the smell.

 _Is there a subway station in this direction...? I need to get on the subway...and go back to Anteiku...but I only know the one right by the bookstore. But...if I keep walking in this direction...I should get to Anteiku eventually..._

Hinami looked around herself to see if anyone was coming after her.

 _Huh?_ she thought, when she saw no one around her. _The streets are empty...?_

Hinami tightly clutched her book in her chest with both hands. She started walking faster and faster, and eventually started to run.

Two men with transceivers watched her run. They were standing on the opposite side of the road from the bookstore, hiding in an alley. One of them brought his transceiver up to his mouth and said, "The girl came out of the bookstore, noticed the scent, and started running to the west!"

Shinohara, who stood in an alley to the north of the bookstore with Juuzou, picked up his transceiver. "Konishi and Misaki, you guys are closest to the bookstore, on its west, so you'll probably encounter her first. When you see her, attack! But unless she has her Kagune out, don't kill her."

"Yes, sir," they responded through the transceiver.

"Amon and Teshigawara. The street gradually curves to the right, so you guys will probably encounter her next. Try to trap her when she comes your way."

"Got it," said Amon, who was stationed with Yukina in an alley to the northwest of the bookstore.

"If you're stationed to the east or south of the bookstore, come near the bookstore and stand by. But don't go past it. Juuzou and I will go toward where Amon and Yukina are, and we will fight the ghoul when we encounter her."

"All right," Amon said. He looked at Yukina, who was standing next to him.

"I thought she'd go to the east toward the scent, but we were right to split the team up on all sides of the bookstore," he said. "Get ready, Yukina. We're a bit far from the bookstore, but it seems like she's coming this way."

"Okay," said Yukina, taking her Quinque out of the case.

For the past few weeks, Yukina and Amon had been working at a police station near the bookstore instead of at the 20th Ward Branch Office. Other members of the Daughter Ghoul investigation team likewise borrowed a room in an office or a police station near the bookstore.

Their plan was to go to an alley near their temporary workplace once a bookstore clerk reports that the suspect had come into the store. Those to the east of the bookstore held a case with a Quinque made of no. 745's father's Kagune to try to attract her to an alley with a dead end. If she goes toward the scent, six investigators will be waiting for her and will attack her all at once. If not, Amon, Yukina, and two other investigators on the other side of the bookstore will try to catch her. Two bureau investigators stood by the bookstore to report which way she decides to go, and Shinohara and Juuzou stood in an alley to the north of the bookstore so that they could go whichever way she went.

When the bookstore clerk called the CCG, the CCG ordered the police to quietly guide the pedestrians to inside a nearby building. For that reason, there was no one on the street besides Yukina and Amon.

 _Such a good plan, finding out a way to catch the Daughter Ghoul without causing casualties,_ Yukina thought as she listened quietly for approaching footsteps. Then, from a distance, she heard gunshots.

 _Bang! Bang!_

Yukina peered out at the main street from behind a wall. A young girl with black hair, a had, and a mask and a big Kagune was running toward them, with two investigators following her and shooting at her.

"Stop, Konishi and Misaki!" Amon shouted. When he heard the gunshots stop, he looked at Yukina. "Let's go, Yukina!" he said, and he ran out of the alley. Yukina followed him, and they ran towards the ghoul and stopped in front of her.

Hinami stopped running, unable to get past turned around, but the two other investigators stood in front of her, pointing their guns at her. She tried to go out on the road, but Amon blocked her path with his Quinque.

Surrounded by buildings and investigators with Quinque, Hinami had nowhere to go.

"Why...does it have to be like this...?" Hinami said, covering her eyes with her small hands.

Yukina took a deep breath.

 _I'm sorry, young girl. I wish it didn't have to be like this either... I want to save ghouls like you. I really do, but..._ _I don't have the power to do so right now. No one will hear me if I side with a ghoul._

Yukina gripped her Quinque tightly and leaned forward.

 _I need to get to a higher rank before I can convince others...so I'll have to kill ghouls as an investigator until then. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but I can't achieve anything without making sacrifices...please understand..._

Yukina apologized to the ghoul silently in her heart, as if she was trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing by making sacrifices to eventually make a more peaceful world.

But when she heard what Hinami said, she opened her eyes wide.

"I don't want to fight...I don't want to kill anyone...!" Hinami cried. "Someone, help me...Mom...Onii-chan...!"

 _...Sacrifice?_

Yukina loosened her grip on her Quinque and gulped. Then, she quickly tightened her grip again and suddenly charged at Hinami.

 _Clang!_

Her Quinque hit Hinami's Kagune.

"Huh...?!" Hinami looked at Yukina, surprised.

Amon took a step back. "Wha-...Yukina, what are you doing?!" he shouted.

Yukina pressed her Quinque down on her Kagune without taking her eyes off Hinami. As the other investigators stood there, looking at her in puzzlement, she slowly moved counterclockwise around Hinami. After a while, she flung her Quinque and Hinami fell back a few meters away. She quickly stood up and started running to the west again. Yukina chased after her.

"Hey, wait!" Amon shouted, running after them. The other two investigators followed him for a while, but because they had been chasing Hinami for a long time, they could not keep up with Hinami, Yukina, and Amon and had to stop and catch their breath. However, right after they gave up chasing her, Shinohara and Juuzou appeared from an alley on the other side of the road.

"Teshigawara! Guide the ghoul this way!" Shinohara yelled from her right, waving his hand at her.

 _Shinohara-san...Suzuya-san... There's no way I can run faster than them..._

Yukina picked up her pace and suddenly attacked Hinami from the right, forcing her to turn left into a narrow alley - just wide enough for Hinami to run through with her big Kagune.

Hinami continued running, but Yukina stopped. She stood in front of the alley and turned her back against Hinami.

"Hey, Yukina! What are you doing?!" Amon asked when he caught up to her.

Hinami turning around, realizing that she wasn't being chased anymore.

"Keep running! Hurry! Find somewhere to hide!" Yukina shouted while still facing Amon, blocking him with her Quinque.

Hinami jolted in surprise, but she quickly ran down the dark alley and disappeared.

"Hey, Amon! What's going on?!" Shinohara asked as he crossed the street to join them.

"I don't know! The Daughter Ghoul came running toward us, so we tried to trap her, but then Yukina started attacking her!" Amon explained.

Juuzou sneered and followed Shinohara across the road. "Ooh, this is becoming interesting," he said.

Shinohara walked up to Yukina.

"Teshigawara. Why did you disobey my order?"

Yukina looked down, silent. Juuzou walked up to her, smiling, and asked, "What? Did you feel sorry because the ghoul was a child?"

"No, it's because...I don't want to kill my own kind," Yukina responded.

"Yuki...!" Amon gasped, but he was cut off by Juuzou.

"Own kind?" he asked, grabbing her left arm and bringing his face close to Yukina's. "Yukina-san, are you saying you're ...a ghoul?"

Yukina kept looking down without a word. Shinohara grabbed Juuzou's wrist and lifted his hand off of Yukina.

"What do you mean by that, Teshigawara?" he asked sternly, looking at Yukina. "Look at my eye and answer."

Yukina slowly looked up and said, "I can't tell the reason to people so easily. But if you promise not to tell anyone else...I will explain it to you, Shinohara-san."

"Teshigawara...do you understand what position you're in?"

"..."

Yukina looked down again and gulped.

"Please let me speak to you privately, Shinohara-san," she said, her voice quivering.

Shinohara let out a sigh. "All right. Come with me to that alley over there. Amon and Juuzou, wait here until we get back."

"But Shinohara-san, the Daughter Ghoul...!" Amon protested.

"It's probably too late. We can't catch up to her now. Besides, this is more important now because it might be... _treason_ ," Shinohara said. He placed his hand on Yukina's shoulders, and he started walking down the street with her.

"Hmm...it seems like there's a bigger reason than pity behind Yukina-san's actions," Juuzou said, looking at them disappear into an alley far away. He turned around to face Amon. "What do you think she meant by 'her own kind,' Amon-san?" he asked.

Amon avoided his gaze. He crossed his arms in front of him and leaned against the wall of a building.

"...The only person who will find that out is Shinohara-san."

Juuzou sat on the ground next to Amon with his legs crossed.

"Oh, okay," he said. "I guess that's true, since Shinohara-san is the type of person who'll keep his promise."

Juuzou put his Quinque on his lap and played around with it, looking bored. Amon stared at the ground and quietly waited for the two to come back.


	26. Part 4: Chapter 4

"So, Teshigawara...by 'your own kind,' do you mean you're a ghoul?" Shinohara asked as he walked into a wide alley with Yukina.

"...Both humans _and_ ghouls are my own kind," Yukina responded, looking down. "I didn't know that I was part-ghoul until just recently. But a few weeks ago, something happened, and I fould out that my paternal grandfather was a ghoul."

"So you're saying that you're a quarter ghoul?!" Shinohara said, surprised. "Even half-ghouls are rare..."

"I don't have solid proof. I was able to live and eat like a human all my life, and I still can. But when my Kagune appeared, even though it was only for a short amount of time...and when I read my mother's letter...I couldn't deny that I'm a quarter-ghoul."

Shinohara stopped walking, took his hand off Yukina's shoulder, and leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms in front of him and thought for a moment.

"...So, what are you going to do? As I promised, I won't tell this to anyone. But I _will_ have to tell the CCG that you let the ghoul escape. You know how big of a crime treason is, right?"

"...Until the moment before I started attacking the girl to let her escape, my decision was to get a higher position in the CCG, even if that meant sacrificing ghouls' lives. Because if I have more influence in the CCG, I can try to make policies to protect ghouls." Yukina lifted her face and looked at Shinohara. "But when the girl called her mother and brother for help, I realized that the girl has a family, her own life. And I wanted a higher position in the CCG in the first place because I want to protect each person's life, whether it's a ghoul or a human."

"So you're saying that you decided to quit being an investigator because you don't want to sacrifice the life of even one ghoul?"

"Yes. I'm okay if my job was to catch the bad ghouls, just like the police arrest humans who committed a crime. But killing ghouls indiscriminately would just be like mass-murdering my own kind."

Shinohara tightened his eyebrows and looked at her sternly. "...You know, Teshigawara. Even if I had to catch or kill a child ghoul, I would tell myself that if I do that, there are lives that will be saved... Can't you think like that?"

"No," Yukina said with a slight smile. "Because they're alive. Everyone has a right to live."

"But ghouls eat humans. Aren't they taking away our right to live?"

"We also have a right to live, but like I said, they do too. This might seem contradicting because it's a predator-and-prey relationship, but by law of nature, it can't be helped that living things must eat other living things in order to survive. I'm not saying that we should let ghouls kill humans as they wish, but killing all ghouls is not right either."

Yukina put her right hand over her heart.

"Unlike other living things with predator-and-prey relationships, we are so similar... We look similar. We both have feelings. We have a large brain to think of what is right and what is wrong. And most importantly, we speak the same language and can convey our feelings to each other. So if we can accept that one difference in each other, that is, what they eat...and if humans and ghouls try to understand each other more...we _can_ coexist. I, a quarter-ghoul born because a human and a ghoul, and a human and a half-ghoul loved each other, am the very proof of that."

"...I see," Shinohara said. He looked up at the cloudy winter sky and thought for a while. Yukina, feeling uneasy of the silence, rubbed her fingers together and bit her lower lip.

"If you're going to leave the CCG, it would be best to tell them that you died in combat. You know, to prevent them from suspecting you of treason," Shinohara said, still looking at the sky. "However, that means you'll have to change your name and make sure you hide from them from now on... Is that okay with you?"

"Does that mean...you're letting me go?" Yukina asked.

Shinohara looked at her and nodded with a sad smile.

"Oh, y-yes...thank you very much!" Yukina said, bowing deeply.

"All right, then. I'll take your Quinque. Ghouls usually don't eat Quinque, so the CCG might suspect that you ran away if I don't take this with me."

"Okay," Yukina said. She held her Quinque out to him with both hands, and Shinohara gently took it.

"Do you have a place to go, though? Remember, you can't go back to your house because you're supposed to be dead," Shinohara reminded her.

"Um...I think I'll try going to my late father's friend. He knows about what I am, so yeah."

"All right. Take care."

"Yes, you too...thank you very much!"

Yukina bowed again, and with that, she ran down the alley. Remembering that she saw Anteiku to the southwest of the bookstore on the map when she was studying the area around the bookstore, she ran towards the cafe to see Yoshimura.


	27. Part 4: Chapter 5

_Thump, thump._

Amon heard a man's footstep approaching.

 _...Looks like only one person came back,_ he thought to himself.

"Ah, Shinohara-san!" Juuzou said, getting to his feet.

Amon stood straight and looked at Shinohara walking towards them. As he had expected, Yukina was not with him.

"How was it?" Juuzou asked curiously.

"...She was related to ghouls in a certain way," Shinohara said, choosing his words carefully.

"Do you mean, like...she was a half-ghoul?" Juuzou asked with a dark smile.

"I can't say anything more than what I said, because I promised her not to tell anyone," Shinohara said, shaking his head. "But I _will_ tell you that I killed her for saving that ghoul earlier."

"What...?! But...without even a trial?!" Amon exclaimed in despair.

"Amon, protecting a ghoul and letting the ghoul escape is treason. You know what the punishment is for that," Shinohara said in a calm tone.

"Well...yes..." Amon mumbled, thinking, _Of course, it's the death penalty, but..._

"When I told her that she would receive a death sentence for sure, she requested to be killed right now and to have me put her body where ghouls would gather," Shinohara explained without changing his tone or expression one bit.

Juuzou cocked his head to one side and said, "Huh... So she protected a ghoul, and now that she can't escape the death penalty, she wants to give her body to ghouls? I don't understand why she would do so much for ghouls. Sigh, I thought we would be good friends, but I guess not."

"Because ghouls are alive," Shinohara said. "And Teshigawara sees them as equals to humans, unlike us. That's why she saved that child ghoul."

Shinohara lifted his right hand that Yukina's Quinque and held it in front of Juuzou. "Juuzou, take this and go to the bookstore. I'm going to call all the investigators on our team with my transceiver to meet up at the alley on the street on the other side of the bookstore. Show them this Quinque, and tell them that Teshigawara was killed and eaten by the child ghoul, and that the child ghoul escaped."

"So we're going to keep her actions a secret?" Juuzou asked.

"That's right. We can't tell the CCG about her treason because part of the reason for that is what I promised Teshigawara not to tell anyone." Shinohara then turned to Amon and continued, "Amon and I will watch Teshigawara to make sure her last wish is carried out."

"...Got it," Juuzou said, taking Yukina's Quinque. He seemed somewhat unsatisfied with all the secrecy, but he started walking towards the bookstore.

Shinohara talked into his transmitter, and then called the CCG on his cellphone to let the police know that they can let people out. When he finished talking, he let out a sigh and looked at the sky.

"...Thank you, Shinohara-san," Amon said suddenly, looking at Shinohara.

"Hm? For what?" Shinohara looked back at him in surprise.

"For not telling the CCG about Yukina's treason. If the word spreads, people would say bad things about her. If they think she died while on duty, she can sleep peacefully," Amon explained. "So, where's her body?"

"Oh, um...hmm... Hey, Amon. Did Teshigawara tell you about who she really is?"

"Oh, um, yes. That her grandfather was a ghoul..."

"Ah, so you know about her secret. That makes it so much easier to tell you what happened."

"Oh...?" Amon said, a little confused.

Shinohara leaned on the wall and said, "She told me what her wishes were. That she didn't want to kill ghouls, that she wanted to save them because they are her own kind. And she said she had decided to quit being an investigator right before she saved the Daughter Ghoul. So, that means, she wasn't an investigator anymore when she had let her escape."

"Wait, does that mean...?"

"Yes, she technically did not commit treason against the CCG, and so I have not punished her," Shinohara said with a warm smile.

"Oh, thank you... Thank you so much, Shinohara-san!" Amon said, relieved.

"Well, strictly speaking, she had to fill out a resignation form, but it happened so quickly so it can't be helped," Shinohara said, laughing.

"But Shinohara-san, why did you help Yukina?" Amon asked.

"Hm? Well...I guess it's because I felt hope in her ideals. As of right now, it would be difficult to change the CCG. But if Teshigawara does something, and the ghouls start acting differently...then maybe we can change. Maybe we don't have to hate or kill each other so much. That's what I hope." Shinohara paused for a moment before he continued, "Well, I told Juuzou that we're going to take a while before we go back to the office, so let's stay here for a for a while."

"Yes, sir," Amon said, leaning on the wall next to Shinohara.

Juuzou, who overheard the whole conversation from behind a building a few feet away from them, turned around and started walking toward the bookstore.

"Hmm, so that's what happened," he said to himself. He pondered for a moment as he spun around Yukina's Quinque for fun. "Well, I guess changes are always fun," he said, smiling. He stopped spinning the Quinque and started running toward the bookstore.


	28. Part 4: Chapter 6

_There's people on the street...which means I must be pretty far from the bookstore,_ Yukina thought as she ran down the street. She has been running for at least half an hour, though it felt like more. She stopped to catch her breath and closed her eyes, trying to remember the map of the area she was in. After a while, she opened her eyes and looked around.

 _That clock tower behind that building...I remember that on the map, it was right by Anteiku._

Yukina started walking towards the clock tower. When she turned to the left at the end of the street, she stopped and sighed with relief. Down the street, above the door of one of the buildings, she saw Anteiku's sign hanging perpendicular to the wall.

Yukina quickened her pace and went straight towards Anteiku. However, the sign on the door said "closed."

"Wh-why? It shouldn't be closed yet..." Yukina mumbled, looking at the store hours written on the door. She nervously brought her hand up and tried knocking on the door.

No response.

Yukina hesitated for a moment before she gripped the door handle and pulled it. It opened slightly with a creaking sound. When she fully opened it, she saw a few people inside: two waitresses with short, black hair, the manager Yoshimura, and a young girl with short, light-brown hair. The girl was sitting on a chair at a table near the entrance, looking down at her feet. The waitresses and Yoshimura were standing around the girl, and they all stared at Yukina.

"Um, excuse me..." Yukina said uncomfortably, stepping inside the room and closing the door behind her. "I-I need to talk with...uh..." Yukina's voice became smaller and smaller, and she looked down at the floor uneasily. She looked up after a while, but no one responded.

Slowly, the young girl with light-brown hair lifted her face. She had a sad, serious expression, but when she saw Yukina, she opened her eyes wide and stood up in surprise. "Oh! A-Are you the investigator from a little while ago?" she asked, looking at Yukina.

"Huh? I'm sorry, wha-" Yukina said, confused. But before she knew it, the younger of the two waitresses had stepped up in front of the girl as though she was protecting her from Yukina.

"Are you one of the investigators who were going after her?! You followed her all the way here to catch her?!" the waitress yelled with a fierce look on her face.

"Huh?! Um..." Yukina faltered, even more confused.

"No, onee-chan, this isn't..." the girl tried to stop the waitress, but she was uncontrollable.

"You investigators...you relentless, merciless group of humans! We just heard from her about what happened at the bookstore. How could you try to kill a child?!" the waitress shouted.

"Wait...are you...?" Yukina gasped, looking at the young girl behind the waitress. "Are you the Daughter Ghoul?!"

The waitress stepped forward and continued, ignoring Yukina's words. "I remember you're the investigator who came to our cafe a month or so ago. Didn't you say back then, that you're wondering whether it's really right to kill all ghouls? When you said that, I felt hope... I couldn't believe a human - what's more, an investigator - actually said that. But!"

The waitress took another step toward Yukina. Yukina flinched and took a step back, her back touching the door.

"Stop, Touka-cha -" the older waitress called the younger waitress. But Yoshimura held his hand in front of her and cut her off.

"Humans are all the same!" Touka yelled at Yukina, her face filled with anger. "You guys don't understand that we have family and friends who we love! You look at us like monsters!"

"Wait, by 'we'...are you saying that you're also a ghoul?" Yukina asked, surprised.

"That's right - all the workers here are ghouls!" Touka shouted. She paused for a moment, and then continued with a dark smile. "And now that you know this, I can't let you out alive!"

Touka revealed her Kagune - a beautiful, mesmerizing Ukaku - and continued in a cold, satirical voice.

"You humans think ghouls are like animals and humans are something special, but scientifically, both of us are animals. And by law of nature, the stronger animals survive by consuming -"

"Did you know that humans and ghouls are the only animals that weep?" Yukina said, cutting her off.

Touka flinched and stepped back.

"...That we are the only animals that use language?" Yukina continued, looking at Touka straight into the eyes. "Humans and ghouls aredifferent from other animals... We have the ability to cry, to speak...to tell others how we feel. We try to think logically and try to understand each other and think what is best for all of us."

"Then...then why did you try to kill Hinami! Logically thinking, isn't it wrong for humans to try to kill ghouls indiscriminately, especially children?! Or are saying you decided this is the best for _all_ of us, humans and ghouls?" Touka yelled.

"No, onee-chan," the young girl said, walking up to Touka and pulling on her sleeves. "Remember how I told you I was chased by a few investigators, but one of them helped me escape? She's the one who saved me."

"What...?" Touka said, looking at Hinami in disbelief.

"...Touka-san," Yukina said in a calm tone, looking at Touka, "I didn't come here to catch her. It's true that I was in the Daughter Ghoul investigation team, but I am no longer chasing her. In fact, I had no idea that she was here when I came to Anteiku."

"But then...what made you come here?"

Yukina looked at Yoshimura. "I wanted to speak with you, Yoshimura-san. I wanted to tell you that I am no longer an investigator. And...and I wish to work with you!"

"Wha-?!" Touka exclaimed in surprise. Yoshimura just looked at Yukina calmly, waiting for her to continue.

"When I talked with you a few weeks ago, I was impressed that there were humans who were helping ghouls," Yukina said, slightly lowering her gaze. "Well...now I know that you're actually ghouls, but...but still, I think we have the same goal. So please, let me work with you, Yoshimura-san!"

"I am willing to accept you any time, since I promised your mother to look after you," Yoshimura said. He looked at the other three and asked, "Are you okay with that, Irimi, Hinami, Touka?"

"Manager, you can't be serious!" Touka cried. "I get it now that she doesn't feel animosity towards ghouls. But how can she be one of us if she doesn't understand our pain? She's a _human_ , Manager, not a ghoul like us."

"Wait, Touka-san," Yukina said. She looked down at her feet and remained silent.

"Wh...What is it?" Touka asked hesitantly.

Yukina breathed in and breathed out. She then slowly lifted her face and spoke with a sad smile. "I am a ghoul, too." She closed her eyes and tensed her shoulders, and a single wing appeared out of the back of her shoulders. When she opened her eyes, one eye was bright-red.

"A Kagune and...a single Kakugan?!" Touka gasped. Irimi and Hinami also looked at Yukina in disbelief.

Yukina's Kagune disappeared after just a few seconds. Then, she suddenly fell to her knees and put both of her hands on the floor. "I'm...only a part-ghoul." Yukina said, breathlessly, barely able to support herself with her arms. "But...I am a ghoul like you, Touka-san."

"Onee-san...!" Hinami kneeled down by her side and tried to support Yukina.

"I'm...all right," Yukina said. "It's just that, even though I have a Kakuhou...I'm not used to using it...and since my Rc level is low, I can't show my Kagune for very long."

"Wait, Manager...didn't you say her parents are humans?!" Touka asked, looking at Yoshimura.

"...I said they weren't ghouls, that is, _full_ -ghouls. Her father is actually a half-ghoul," Yoshimura said. "At that time, I wasn't even sure if my regular customer from years ago was her father, so I gave a vague answer on purpose."

"Huh...I see," Touka said, still seeming suspicious.

Yoshimura walked over to Yukina and looked at her with a grave expression. "...Yukina-kun. You remember what I told you about using your Kagune, right?"

"...Yes," Yukina said, her voice slightly trembling. "Please give me...what I need...before I go mad..."

Yoshimura nodded and turned around. "Irimi, take her to the room in the back. I'll be there in a second."

"Oh, uh...yes," Irimi said, and she started walking towards Yukina.

Yukina's vision became blurry and dark. She felt nauseous and hungry at the same time. Her eyelids became heavy, and soon, everything turned black.


	29. Part 4: Chapter 7

Yukina woke up in a dimly-lit room. She slowly turned around in the bed to see Yoshimura sitting on a chair near her.

"How are you feeling?" Yoshimura asked.

"Oh...uh, okay. Not...hungry anymore," Yukina said, looking down at her stomach.

Yoshimura nodded. "I wanted to apologize for lying to you that I'm a human when you came to see me last time. I couldn't tell the truth to an investigator."

"Oh, no, I understand," Yukina said. She nervously licked around her teeth and asked, "Um...so...I ate it, right...?"

"Yes, while you were asleep. Along with water. It was more as medicine than food, though," said Yoshimura.

Just then, Yukina heard the clinging of bells from far away.

"Ah, it seems like the other two workers came back. They were at supermarket when Hinami and you came in. Now, I have to go tell them what happened," Yoshimura said, standing up. "Touka-kun will be bringing you coffee soon. Please rest well."

"Thank you," Yukina said. And with that, Yoshimura left the room.

Yukina turned around in her bed and faced the wall. "So now...I'm really a ghoul..." she mumbled. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she curled up and cried quietly.

Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door, and the light turned on. Yukina quickly wiped her tears with her hand and turned around to see Touka walking into the room with a tray.

"You're awake now?" Touka said, holding out a cup of coffee in front of her.

"Uh...yes. Thank you," Yukina said, sitting up and receiving it with both hands. She took a sip, and let out a sigh. As Amon had told her, the coffee here was delicious.

"So, Manager told us that your grandfather was a ghoul, and that you're a quarter-ghoul," Touka said, sitting on the chair by her bed.

"Oh...yes. Well I didn't know about it myself until just a few weeks ago, though," Yukina said.

There was an awkward moment of silence. Yukina looked down into her coffee and took another sip.

Finally, Touka said, "Why did you do that?"

Yukina looked at Touka and asked, "Do what?"

"Manager said he had warned you that you'll have to live like a ghoul if you show your Kagune again. Then, why did you show it to us?"

"Well, um...I wanted to understand your pain, and -"

"I didn't mean it like I wanted you to become a ghoul when I said you shouldn't work with us because you don't understand our pain!" Touka yelled. She bit her lips and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell, but..."

There was a moment of silence. Touka breathed in deeply and said, "I'm...envious of humans. That they don't have to eat humans and can stay alive by eating other stuff. So I can't understand why you're willing to feel unnecessary pain just to understand us. When I said you don't understand our pain...it's just that I wanted to tell you that ghouls and humans are different, and we can't understand each other."

Yukina put the cup on her lap and said, "Well, there are other reasons for showing my Kagune. First, my Kagune is the most solid proof that I'm a ghoul. You wouldn't have believed me if I just told you that I was a part-ghoul, right?"

"Well...I guess so," Touka mumbled, looking away.

"Second, I want to help ghouls, and in order to do that, I need power...power to protect ghouls from investigators. I also want to protect humans from aggressive ghouls like the Binge Eater and Jason. But I'm not strong enough as a human, especially without my Quinque, so I knew I would have to use my Kagune in the near future. The faster the better to get to know how to use it properly."

"But...why would you do something so reckless like protecting both humans and ghouls?"

"Because I _know_ we can understand each other. We're not as different as some may think. The fact that I, a quarter-ghoul, exist is that very proof," Yukina said, smiling at Touka. "You know, what I _really_ want to do is to change humans' opinions toward ghouls, because I know they're filled with falsehood. Sadly, I can't do that...but I believe that people's opinions _can_ change."

"How, though? We can't erase the fear that humans have toward ghouls, since we have to eat them," Touka said.

"Well, I was thinking...maybe I can collect bodies of people who committed suicide and give them to ghouls in need. Now, it might still be sinful, but it's better than killing humans who are alive. And also, humans won't have to fear getting killed by ghouls on the streets, so their hatred of ghouls might lessen."

"Well, uh...I don't think you know this, but actually, that's what Anteiku does to help ghouls," Touka said.

"Huh? Oh, really?!" Yukina said, surprised. "Well, that makes working with Yoshimura-san even better for me because it seems like we have the same idea!"

Yukina took another sip out of her coffee.

"You know the phrase, 'treat people the way you want to be treated?' If the ghouls' actions become different from what the humans think, then I think humans' opinions toward ghouls will change too."

Touka opened her eyes wide. She breathed in deeply, and she smiled as she breathed out.

"Hey...can I work with you?" Touka asked, looking into Yukina's eyes.

"Huh?" Yukina said, surprised. "Oh, yes...but why so suddenly?"

Touka gripped her hands tightly on her lap. "What I wish for the most right now is for someone really important to me to come back here," Touka said, looking down with a sad expression. "I thought, maybe if the 20th ward changes for the better, he'll come back."

"Why do you think so?" Yukina asked.

"Well, the reason he left is, most likely, to become strong enough to protect those who he loves...even if that means doing what he hates to do."

"Doing what he hates to do...?"

"...Right now, he's going around and killing humans and ghouls alike, and eating them to become stronger. But before, he hated having to kill a single human in order to survive!" Touka said, her tone becoming more impatient and angrier. "That's why I want to yell at him that he doesn't have to do this, that he can come back to Anteiku! And...I also want to yell the same thing to my brother, who left Anteiku a long time ago."

"Yes...let's do this, Touka-san! Oh, I'm not sure if I introduced myself to you yet, but my name is Yukina Teshigawara. I'll probably have to change my name soon because I'm supposed to be dead, but, well, I'll explain more on that later. Please call me Yukina."

"All right, Yukina... I'm glad to have met you," Touka said with a smile.

The two looked at each other for a while, smiling. Yukina felt so relieved and happy, that the sadness she had felt only a moment ago from eating human flesh had gone away.

Suddenly, Yukina opened her eyes wide and said, "Hey, I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but...does your brother happen to be in the Aogiri Tree?"

"Hm? Yeah, but why?" Touka asked, surprised.

"Well, I remember seeing a person with a similar face and hair color as you when the CCG recently raided the Aogiri Tree's 11th ward base," Yukina explained. "I remember he had an Ukaku like you, and he was wearing the cloak that all the Aogiri members wear."

"Hmm...do you remember what his mask was like?"

"Um, I think it was black, with a face drawn on it."

"Ah, that's probably my brother. Yeah, he went to the Aogiri," Touka laughed bitterly. "But dang, you have good memory!"

"Well, um...I've actually seen him before," Yukina smiled, looking down into her half-full coffee cup.

 _So, the ghoul who let me go was Touka-san's brother... This must be some kind of fate_ , Yukina thought.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Hi, Yukina-chan, I'm Irimi," the older waitress said, walking into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," answered Yukina.

"Ah, that's good. Do you think you can come over to the shop and speak with the two other waiters? They were out when you came in, but we've explained pretty much everything to them. Or actually, do you want them to come here? It's going to be a bit crowded, though."

"No, I can walk," Yukina said, getting her legs out of the blanket.

"Here," Touka said, pulling Yukina's hand to help her stand up.

"Thanks," Yukina said.

Irimi smiled and said, "Okay, guys. Follow me."

Yukina walked out of the room and down the hallway, thinking, _I hope the CCG will change... Amon-san, Shinohara-san, Suzuya-san, and Takizawa-san...they're all good people._ _I hope they,_ _and the citizens of the 20th ward, will become more understanding towards ghouls..._

Yukina smiled as she walked into the cafe and greeted the two waiters sitting inside.

END OF PART 4 (FINAL PART)

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Post-AP exam, post-finals, hyperactive writing mode wheeeee**

 **Hi everyone! So I've been in this writing frenzy for the past week, and hey, I finally finished the last chapter of the story! I'm glad that I was able to achieve my goal of finishing the story before May ends, because I will be pretty busy over the summer. Yup, I have college entrance exams coming up in the fall, so I have to prepare for it D:**

 **Let me know what you thought about the whole story/the final chapter! All the reviews are what kept me going :) Thank you so much for reading until the end!**

 **But wait! There is an epilogue (or two) coming up, so stay tuned :) (Because I haven't explained where the title comes from yet, have I?) See you again at the longer A/N after the epilogue(s)!**

 **-moeka1220**

 **P.S. I am planning to change my username soon, most likely right before I post the epilogue(s). I'll mention that again in the A/N after the epilogue(s).**

 **P.P.S. Feel free to ask me any questions through messaging or review! I may answer them by sending you a PM or in the A/N after the epilogue(s).**


	30. Epilogue 1

**A/N**

 **EDITED PART 3 CH. 5, added important background info in paragraphs 8-12.**

 **Please reread it! Thank you!**

"Hey, did you hear? Amon-san's partner died again, while on duty."

"Yeah, I heard about that! Man, I always thought she was pretty every time I passed by her..."

"Yes, me too! And you know, I was in the same class with her at the Academy, and in our class she was called, ' _takane no hana_ '...a flower beyond one's reach."

"A flower beyond one's reach, eh? But after all, she was more like a fragile...'flower of glass.'"

Amon sat on a sofa in the first floor's lobby of the 20th ward branch office, listening to the young men's conversation as they passed by him.

"A flower of glass..." Amon mumbled to himself.

Just then, from behind him, he heard footsteps approaching.

"Sorry to make you wait. Let's go."

Amon turned around and saw Akira Mado, his new partner and Mado-san's daughter.

"...All right," Amon said, standing up.

 _...A flower of glass, huh?_ Amon thought.

 _Well, it's true that humans are like glass_ _—fragile and easi_ _ly broken._

 _But Yukina's only three-fourth human and hasn't actually broken yet. She will continue to shine...yes, even though no one may notice because of her transparency, she will continue shining like a flower of glass._

Amon laughed at himself lightly for being poetic. Akira looked at him slightly but kept walking without a word. Amon continued walking with her under the cloudy sky, heading to where a ghoul was supposedly witnessed.


	31. Epilogue 2

"Amon. The bureau investigators will arrive five minutes later and handle the rest. They said we can go if we're done putting up the yellow tape."

"Got it."

Amon exhaled and saw his white breath in the air.

It was a cold, cloudy winter day, and the ghoul whom Amon and Akira had killed was a young man. Perhaps because no one goes out at night time in this coldness, he brought his prey into a narrow alley in the afternoon and ate him. However, he did not have luck, as he was spotted by a bystander.

"Well, since we already have the yellow tape up, let's go back," Amon said.

"All right," Akira said, nodding.

Akira started walking towards the 20th ward branch office. Amon stretched, and just when he took a step forward...

 _Sigh._

Amon turned around at the sound of a faint sigh.

"!" A child with red eyes, who was peeking from a garbage can with no lid, opened his eyes wide in surprise and hid in the can.

 _Another ghoul...?!_

Come to think of it, it wasn't unusual for a child ghoul to hide and wait for an adult ghoul to finish eating and take the leftovers. But it was the first time Amon came across that situation.

"What's wrong, Amon?" Akira asked, turning around.

Amon looked at Akira and said, "Well, uh..."

Amon looked from Akira to the garbage can, and from the garbage can to Akira.

 _...Do we really have to kill ghouls?_

Yukina's words came across his mind.

"...Hey, Akira," Amon said, dropping his eyes. "Why do you think government agencies like us exist?"

Akira stared at Amon and tilted her head questioningly. "Well, if you want to hear my opinion, I think it's for the greatest happiness of the greatest number."

"...I see," Amon said. He started walking, still looking down. "Yes, I see. All right, let's go."

The two quietly walked towards the office.

 _The greatest happiness of the greatest number...,_ Amon thought as he walked.

 _I wouldn't have even wondered if ghouls were included in that "number" until a while ago. But now..._

Amon looked back once more as he walked.

... _I want that child to be happy, too._

That's what he thought now.

-END-

 **A/N**

 **First and foremost, thank you to the readers for reading this fanfic until the end! This is actually the first fanfic that I have ever completed. My three other fanfic (in Japanese, on a website that's generally not for fanfics) that I have previously written are unfinished. The views, follows, favorites, and reviews are what kept me going—I got super-excited every time there was a notification from fanfic in my email inbox. So thank you so, so much!**

 **A big thanks to my sister for helping me revise each chapter!**

 **Also, when I received a review about how Akira Mado is more tolerant of ghouls, I started thinking, hmm, maybe I should write a note somewhere that I actually haven't read the manga. I watched both seasons of the anime and read some spoilers about the manga (mostly to see the difference between the manga and anime in the Aogiri arc, and what happens at the beginning of :re), but I don't know what's going on in :re right now. Maybe that's why I don't think Akira is more tolerant of ghouls than other humans...but anyways, this story mostly follows Route A because I've only watched the anime. (Maybe I should put this note at the beginning of the story but idk.)**

 **I actually outlined the whole plot soon after I started writing this. Most of the story follows that, but as time passed, I have made several changes here and there. And I was able to come up with a satisfying ending.**

 **I'm thinking about writing what happens after this story, since Kaneki is still in Aogiri at this point. If I write it, Kaneki and Ayato, along with Yukina, Amon, and Touka, will be the main characters. But my memory of Route A is getting hazy, so I'm going to have to watch it again if I will. If I do write the next part of this fic, it will be published as a new story with a different title.**

 **But I also have an idea for a crossover fanfic of Bleach and Hunter x Hunter that I've been thinking about for a long time (which I started just a few days ago). I daydream a lot about fanfic stuff, usually with an OC, but this fanfic will not have any OC. Also, it would be my first-ever crossover:) I might write this before I write the next part to this fanfic.**

 **I also started writing a Hakuouki fanfic, which you don't need to know the original story to enjoy, so if you like my writing, please check that out too:)**

 **So, yeah, this was my first fanfic in English, and though I feel like I'm better at writing in English than in Japanese, I know there are some awkward sentences, bad word choice, and unnecessary parts here and there. I've also noticed that I tend to be wordy and repetitive (which my friend has pointed out to me before when she read my essay for my English class haha). But writing the story first in Japanese and then translating it into English a few weeks later helped make the English version become much better. I will keep rereading and editing this story, and hopefully, it will get better and better.**

 **Ah, this got kind of long. Well that's all I have to say for now. Again, thank you so much for your support, and I hope I'll see you again in the near future!**

 **moeka**

 **P.S. I have decided not to change my username, so I will keep writing under moeka1220.**


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